If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You were not sure why this Scyther was sticking to such a weird attack pattern, or why is was sticking to such an attack pattern at all. It was truly confusing. Truthfully annoying. These spatial reasoning puzzles. >.< But, this time, you were going to try and attack outright, instead of waiting for the Scyther to even come back out again. Sparow flutters over to the south, and its wings becomed encased in steel as it prepares for a powerful STEEL WING attack. Sparow dissapears into a bush, and only a few seconds later do you hear a screech from the bushes. The Scyther hops out of the south bush, and looks at you with digust in its eyes. It seems that there is a small crack in the Scyther's exoskeleton, the Steel Wing was successful! Sparow flips out of the bushes, happy that it was finally able to get a good hit on the Scyther. But the battle is not over yet. The Scyther tries to get the jump on Sparow by using its insane speed for another QUICK ATTACK, but, when it lands on its legs, you see that it grimaces in pain. It obviously cannot walk on that leg anymore. Instead, it decides that little bit of special attacking is in order, and charges up another sphere of fighting energy between its scythes, the sphere glowing a bright blue color and making a vaccuum like "PHUWP!" as it grows. The sphere flies towards Sparow, who cannot get out of the way in time and takes a lot of damage. Sparow then charges at it again, and begins a furious assualt. It begins pecking at the Scyther like mad, its FURY ATTACK showing the full extent of its anger. Scyther tries to bat away Sparow, and succeeds, Sparow only able to get a couple of hits in before the borad end of a scyther comes in and smacks it broadside. Sparow cries out as it falls to the ground, and the Scyther is finally beginning to show sigs of wear. it is growing weaker and weaker, and a few more good placed blows should finish it off. Sparow comes in again and PECKs Scyther in the knee, causing it to scream out in pain and fall over, getting back up. Suddenly, something happens to the Scyther. It gets a furious look in its eyes, and its scyther becomes covered in a nightly energy. It slash Sparow with a powerful NIGHT SLASH, causing Sparow to cry out in pain. She fluts back, and looks at the Scyther again.

Meanwhile, the Gardevoir again enters your mind. "You are doing well trainer. Keep up the pressure, and soon, the Scyther will buckle under the weight!"

What will you do?

El couldn't believe it, finally things were starting to go her way! It was miraculous, really, she could just about stop there and then and laugh for ever. Or until, you know, the angry scyther lopped her head off. Whichever came first. However, celebrations could wait until this ordeal was over and done with. What to do now? Sparow had disabled one of it's legs, but it's blades were still quite dangerous. Surely there had do be a way for Sparow to attack from afar. Think, El, think! There had to--

Oh, of course! That thing with the thing that taught the thing! Oh dear did Guadevoir or Turt hear that? What a marvelous sentence she constructed there. She couldn't help but smile at least, here she was in her first major battle and she was winning and oh there was going to be a finale. Oh, would there be a finale. This scyther, on this fateful day, would see the best damn bird-assisted light show ever. Even if that was a rather narrow range, it would be the best! And oh man the adrenaline was coming again she could feel it. She was gonna be a giggling mess after all was said and done.

"Hey, Sparow!" she cried. "We're going to make this happen! All your moves so far have been up close, so shock him with a Tri Attack! Yeah! And then, um, counteract the light with Pursuit! We can't have that thing thinking it can get away from us, can we? And then, um, um, you know what? Show off with a shiny Steel Wing to finish! We can't show him your heart of steel, you need that to live, but we can give him the next best thing! KIIAAAAAH! FOR TURT AND GUARDEVOIR!"

Oh dear, it was certainly a good thing Sparow was used to her trainer's tendancy for adrenaline highs. Really, she seemed like the kind of person who would enjoy skydiving and roller costers. On the other hand, she was definitely going to regret that last bit later. Who seriously screams like a character from a shounen anime when their pokemon battle gets intense? Not to mention the possibility that it survives, that would be awfully embarrasing. But neither Sparow nor El were in the mind to contemplate these possibilities, one because the was full of hormones and the other was a bird.

Something else entirely came to mind. She could feel a small collection of pokeballs weighing down her pockets. Perhaps...?

The Spearow’s quick, sharp peck sends a wave of pain zinging through your arm, causing you to drop the map into the dirt. Seconds later, the quick bird dips down and snags the parchment in its claws, flying higher with its prize. Angling north of the village, the Pokémon begins to float in the direction marked on the map. Below, the girl with the shock of red hair struggles to keep up, shouting encouragements to what must be her own Pokémon. A surge of anger snaps you into focus. Bringing out a Poké Ball, you call out your Houndour, Scout, for assistance. The little fire dog seems eager to play, but you quickly explain the situation to her. “Come on, Scout, we need to go after them. Hurry!”

The chase was on. Turning, the red-headed girl quickly notices your pursuit and begins to run faster. Questions form in your mind regarding this peculiar situation. Wasn’t this village supposed to be deserted? Who the heck was this small girl who thought she could get away with petty theft? As the girl’s legs pump faster, you only encourage Scout to run harder too. Before long, you close in the gap between you and the petite girl, which only causes you to run faster. The red-head notices this as well, beginning to yelp with fright as you close the distance to just a few feet. Suddenly, she stumbles into the dirt, and you trip over her as well, not having enough time to dodge. Dust is thrown into the air, but as it clears, the girl’s face comes into focus. She looks to be in her mid-teens, with dark blue eyes and a slanting visage. Regaining your feet, you stride over to the fallen girl and offer her your hand, suddenly feeling a little sorry for the little lady in spite of the situation at hand. “Who are you, and why did you steal my map?” you ask, injecting a little venom into the question. Smiling in understanding, the girl accepts your assistance and begins to explain herself.

“My name’s Celeste, and, well, I stole the map because I had to. You see, the two people that you just met are my grandparents. I’ve lived with them ever since I was tiny, when Cinder Village was a thriving place. But now…” She pauses to gesture at the dilapidated surroundings. “Now everything’s been ruined. I know you have already heard the story about the mysterious disappearance of the hot spring—I eavesdropped on your conversation—and I know it’s somehow tied to the noises that are heard at night. My grandparents are very overprotective and never let me investigate, even though I wanted to so badly. Whenever you arrived, I jumped at the chance of setting off to find out what’s going on once and for all. You see, the cave’s location is a secret even to me, so I needed the map to find it. My grandparents would never let me see it, so I figured now was the perfect chance to get my hands on it. I couldn’t risk you not helping me, so I did what I thought I had to do: steal it,” finishes the girl in a breathless tone. Not waiting for a response, Celeste quickly whistles; a few seconds later, the Spearow that had stolen the map drops back down from the sky with the piece of parchment clutched in its claws. “I didn’t think I could trust you at first, but for some reason, I feel like you could be a valuable ally in helping with this cave mystery. Plus, I know the lay of the land. I could help you. So what do you say? Would you allow me to accompany you to search for the truth,” she asks, extending the map for you to take.

How will you respond?

With a bit of luck, Myrrh managed to catch the red-headed girl after tripping over her. She didn't try to take off again, so Myrrh offered his hand to her and asked her to explain herself. Her name was Celeste, she claimed to be the granddaughter of the two elders from before and tried to steal the map because they never let her check out the cave for herself, she also didn't know how to get there by herself. At first, Myrrh doubted her claim about being the elders' granddaughter, but then he quickly remembered that he never actually saw their granddaughter back at their home. She also seemed to be 16, the age they said their granddaughter was. In the end her story was believable to Myrrh.

Scout was quietly picking at things nearby, but glanced at the two people every now and then. Myrrh was conflicted for a bit. He felt bad when he heard that Celeste's grandparents didn't allow her to investigate things on her own, she might have been able to fix everything. But he also knows where they come from, she is all they have left, and if they were to lose her while investigating....

"What if I said no? If I asked you to return to your home and let me handle this? This isn't really important though, cause I'm letting you come with me. We kinda ran a bit, we can either stay here a little longer or start making out way to the cave. Either way we should go over some things. Oh, and I'm Myrrh. I don't remember if I mentioned that back at your house. That over there is Scout, I didn't really have to need her help after all, but she doesn't seem to mind....." he trailed off to let Celeste respond

Out of character: Oh, I didn't realize some updates were posted earlier, sorry >.>

Just so you guys know, since Halloween is coming around, this updates hopefully will be extra creepy.

Mt. InfernusWaterfallTakeo

The thing behind the red shield looks at you for a moment, before hiding behind his shield and taking to his other head. you wait for a little while as they murmur and talk to each other, before the upper head pops out and says, "Well, I would thin, myself and I, that if you were to ask the blue door what he would be hiding to what you are looking for. Well, that is just me myself. I don't know truthfully myself though." The other thing looks at the red shield and yells out, "You dirty liar! I would never say such a thing!" "Oh really now. I'M the liar here. Well, what if YOU ARE THE LIAR here." "I am shocked you would ever suggest such a thing. I though we were friends." "Heh. A lie right there i tell ya. I lie right there." "Yeah, yeah, listen to your second head. You know all the good that has done ya, haven't you." "Oh, yeah, my head is so so bad. And what about yours!? Your second head is the one who landed us this job anywho!" "Yeah, but it was only at your head's convincing!" "Your brought it up first!" "It did not!" "Did too!"

Well, its does not seem like the two of them are ever going to stop arguing. What is more imporatant however is that you figure out which one of them is lying or not. Or, is that really nessecary? It might not be young man! Narcissa looks at you as she tries to figure out the answer, but she just has this blank look on her face, apparently, this is too difficult for her to figure out. Which door is which!? Will you go to certain death!? Will you find what you are looking for!? Or, is there another fate that awaits you!? Come and see next time on Total Drama Ruins!

What will you do?

The Goblin behind the red shield looked at Hallow for a moment, before hiding behind his shield and talking to his other head.
Hallow waited for a while as they murmured and talked to each other, before the upper head popped out again and saying,
"Well, I would think, myself and I, that if you were to ask the blue door what he would be hiding to what you are looking for. Well, that is just me myself. I don't know truthfully myself though."
Hallow nodded at his answer,
The other Goblin looked at the red shield and yelled out,
"You dirty liar! I would never say such a thing!"

"Hey now," Hallow interjected,

"Oh really now. I'M the liar here. Well, what if YOU ARE THE LIAR here."
"I am shocked you would ever suggest such a thing. I thought we were friends."
"Heh. A lie right there i tell ya. I lie right there."

With the banter that was taking place Hallow started to laugh, "Hahaha,"

"Yeah, yeah, listen to your second head. You know all the good that has done ya, haven't you."
"Oh, yeah, my head is so so bad. And what about yours!? Your second head is the one who landed us this job anywho!"
"Yeah, but it was only at your head's convincing!"
"Your brought it up first!"
"It did not!"
"Did too!"

"Ha ha haaaaaa, ahhhh,"
With a sigh of relief Hallow began to think,I'm never going to get anywhere with these two,

Narcissa looked perplexed at him as she too tried to figure out the answer, but she just had this blank expression on her face, and couldn't seem to grasp the logic behind the question,

Hallow took out her Poke Ball from his belt,
"Thank you for all you have done so far, I'll take the lead form here," he said as a red light emits her back inside the sphere, returnings it back to his belt,

The two still wouldn't stop arguing, finally Hallow said "Enough!,"
"I know what door will lead me to where I need to go," he said pushing the blue shielded guard out of the way blocking the way,
"I think you two need a vacation sometime,"
As he approached the door to turn the nob he left them saying,
"You two have a pleasant day now,"

Despite Echo’s steel-hardened body, the effects of the battle are starting to take their toll on the tough little Psychic type. The Arcanine seems to be panting heavily as well, yet it still continues its frantic pace across the room, looking for any sort of opening to attack. Echo listens to your instructions once again through the Pokédex Theta carries on the sideline, using his boosted speed stat to surreptitiously weave through the air with a Faint Attack. Echo’s move succeeds, causing the fire dog to jump backwards in pain and surprise. It hadn’t been expecting that! Growling menacingly, the Arcanine spreads a close range Heat Wave around Echo, inflicting further damage that ends up reduced by the steel type’s Heatproof ability. Through the blazing fire that now surrounds it, Echo seizes its chance and summons a Confuse Ray that zooms through the air and strikes the Arcanine clear in the face. You cheer through the speaker as the move succeeds, causing the Bronzor to smile slightly with relief.

Suddenly, however, a searing pain causes Echo to cry out in shock. It looks like the Bronzor sustained a burn from the Heat Wave! As the fire clears away, both opponents now appear to afflicted with status conditions. On the other side of the arena, the Arcanine jumps and twists this way and that, stopping every once in awhile to Crunch at his tail and paws. Meanwhile, a blazing sensation stabs at Echo’s innards, lowering his health slightly. As you gaze at what seems to be a deadlock, a cry escapes your lips as you see the Arcanine start to run towards Theta—and the Pokédex—in its confusion. A wave of fire escapes the fire type’s maw as it shoots a Flamethrower at the Magnemite. The Pokédex slips sideways and crashes to the ground as the attack hits, the live feed flickering and crackling. You can only see a limited view of the cavern now since the Pokédex is on the floor. As the smoke clears from the fire type attack, though, you can see enough of the situation to realize that Echo had sacrificed itself to save Theta from the Flamethrower! The steel/psychic type floats in the air for a few seconds, but then crashes to the ground from its combined injuries. Magnemite retreats backwards as the Arcanine advances toward it…

What’s your next move?

Alex grinned as the faint attack struck, though it faded once the fire type struck back with a wave of fire. Amidst the inferno, Echo managed to send out of ray of light that struck the Arcanine dead on. As the flames settled, Alex could see the dog-like pokemon trying to bite its own tail. But when he looked over at his Bronzor, he saw a large scorch mark on its body. The steel typed had been burned from the repeated fire attacks. Fortunately, they now had a chance to catch their breath before heading back into the fray. "Ok Echo, now's your ch-"

Just then, the wild fire type somehow bounded towards the camera with flames gathered in its mouth. "Theta! Get out of there!" While nowhere close to the attack, Alex instinctively shielded his face from the flames. When he looked back at the screen, all he could see was the ceiling of the cavern. "Theta! Echo! What happened!?" Just then he made out the steel and psychic type in the corner of the screen. "Echo?"

Then the Bronzor wobbled in mid air and fell to the ground. "Echo!"

Theta then showed back up on the screen and looked from its fallen partner to the camera. The electric type didn't have a mark on it. Alex just looked at the screen stunned. Did Echo sacrifice itself for Theta? That- that was- woah. He got the feeling he was vastly underestimating the emotions of his pokemon. But now Echo was down for the count and Theta was on its own. Now, they finished this. "Theta, let's do this! Just because your electricity keeps being drawn to the walls doesn't mean you can't fight. Ram into it with a Spark, follow with Swift and Psybeam. Echo has worn it down for you, it's up to you to finish it."

The Magnemite bobbed a nod towards the camera and looked towards where the Arcanine must have been. With that sorted out, now was time to deal with Echo. He pulled a pokeball out of his pocket and sent out the small Abra that was contained in it. "Hey Phi, we need you."

...what...

The young psychic type was still developing his telepathy. He could only so a single word at a time. "Echo fainted in the cave here and I need you to Teleport in there and Teleport back out here with Echo so I can take care of it. Can you get a lock on their location?"

...yes...

"Great. You go and do that." Alex shrugged his backpack and rooted around for a minute. "I hope I have something for it in here... bingo!" He pulled an Oran Berry out of his bag. While he was unsure how exactly Echo would eat it, it would certainly help.

(Attention all updators! There are a few quidelines I would like to put up:

Grammar: Make sure that your posts are all grammtically correct and spelled correcty. I am not a Grammar Nazi, but if you are a blantant offender, I will try to notify you and may drop you. Don't worry, you guys are good.

Replies: Try to make your posts somewhat large. The more you reply, the more I have to work with. This is mostly to coolz8 at the moment, you need to try harder. I don't mind if you reiterate what I post(infact, I encourage it), but no two or three line replies. Or else, you might get minimal updates from me. Or get dropped. :/

Self-Updating: A little bit of creative license is encouraged, feel free to slightly tweak dialogue, or to add your own thoughts on events while they are happening. If, however, I feel that you have changed something so that it is not the original meaning, you will be notified. This is a definite way to get dropped.

Reply Time: I update often, so, it should be a signal to reply often. However, if you are not replying, it is a strain on me to have to try and remember my plans for you. If you don't reply for over a month without notifiying me, you will get dropped. If you are leaving or have something that is keeping you from replying, PLEASE TELL ME!!!

And the most important guideline of all, HAVE FUN! )

Also, with Food Guy, I have seven updatees/

Mt. SenicaCinder VillageCoolz8

(Hey, you can't just find a Pokemon and capture it, you gotta work for your Pokemon! :P)

You and your Pokemon Trick go and start to clean the bathroom, which you find is actually a lot harder than it originally seemed. The floor was covered in soap scum and whatever else scum had come in here, and it never seemed to go away, it seemed to be permanently stuck onto the floor. The sinks were covered in scum as well, but they came clean a little bit easier than on the floor. The worst part about the cleaning, however, was the toilets. They stunk to high heavens, hell, above high heavens, and were covered in crap. It seems that people didn't like to flush here, or they got a bad case of Moctezuma's revenge. You and Trick get bust working, and afer what seems like hours go by, you finally get the bathroom cleaned up. You can see the original color in the tiles, which is a baby bird blue, instead of the white you had seen earlier. The sinks sparkled and gleamed like chrome, and even the toilets were a pearly white. You and Trick looked on your work, and were proud, even though this was a nuisance to do this, at least you had gotten it done quickly, and good to.

The man came in right after you finished, probably to see if you were slacking off or what not. His Golurk stayed outside, it was too tall to fit inside the bathroom. He looked around the bathroom, inside the stalls, under the sinks, in the toilets, and looked at you. He gave you a smile, and said, "Well, you look like a good kid after all. Or, someone who has been cleaning bathrooms all their lives." He laughs at this, and you cannot help but give a giggle too. "It seems I took you wrong. Hell, it happens. I guess that you guys are free to go. Wow, this is probably the cleanest I have ever seen the bathroom. She is good enough to get a date now." Again he laughed, and saw that you were walking out the door. He remembered that you said you were looking for Pokemon, and remembered something he had seen. "Hey, wait a minute kid. What is your name?" You tell him that your name is Frinth. "Frinth, what the hell kind of name is that? Oh well, my name is August. August Brown. I am what you would call the local law enforcement here at Cinder Village. I try to keep hoodlums and no-gooders out of here. People come here because they want to relax...and occasionaly want to find Pokemon too. Nobody gets by me and Cassius here, you bet it." He takes a deep breath in, and looks out window. "Trust me kid, there is no Pokemon in that spring you were looking at. It was man-made for people. But, I can tell you a place where you can find special Pokemon that like the hot water. If, of course, you are interested..."

What will you do?

Frinth was in a somehow slighted fatigue, and he went out to lean on one of the benches he could find. As he searched, he took off his suit and that of Trick's, carefully removing each appendage to avoid injuring him through a rushed manner. He halted when they finished." Trick, let me give you something I've finished. It's a translator, so we could converse more effectively. I hope you'd like this. I'm sure you understand me vaguely, but I also placed in an audio translator just in time for our new mission. But I was able to finish this early enough to be able to test this... But I'd like this to start operating as soon as possible as I see a future need for this. And a grave need at that."

He Bestowed a single device which seemed to have been made out of light, and Trick tried mouthing something inaudible, but he was able to emit something different, A nice tone which would actually sound human, save for a slight robotic vibration and Trick's natural Pokemon voice.

" Does this work?" was what came out.

"Yes, indeed." Frinth Smiled.

"So, August, Might I ask for you guys to show me around? I'd like to get a bit more familiar and survey the area for documentation and probably meet a few trainers along the way if I'm lucky enough."

More trainers begin to gather around the Combusken and Donphan as the battle continues to wear on. Both opponents look ready to collapse at any second, quivering slightly from each individual injury. You watch the crowd grow steadily and realize how embarrassing it would be to lose here in front of everyone. Shaking your head to clear such thoughts, you shout forth what you hope to be the final commands to finish off this battle, lacing your words with confidence in order to encourage Apollo. The Combusken turns his head and nods in acknowledgement, a glint of light sparkling in his eye. Your eyes shift to the Donphan as the elephant listens to his trainer’s commands; over the dull roar of the crowd, you aren’t able to hear Zaire’s voice. Crossing your fingers, you watch as the next round commences.

Sending a bellowing roar into the air, the Donphan rushes forward in a reckless, life-risking Double-Edge, but his move is interrupted a few yards away from Apollo. The fire-type Mirrors the elephant’s last Move, channeling his energy into the earth which results in another ground-shaking Bulldoze. The Donphan trips over himself and topples forward as he’s not able to stop his momentum in time. Apollo jumps backwards quickly, but he is nicked in the side from the unsteady behemoth. Meanwhile, the rumbling in the ground fades altogether. Taking advantage of the close quarters, Apollo utilizes more of his Hidden Power in the form of grass-green orbs of energy that spiral towards the downed elephant. The spheres of power collide into his side, but the Donphan does his best to regain his feet following the barrage. Rushing forward as fast as his body will allow, the elephant Pokémon unleashes his pent-up Frustration and smashes into the Combusken as the fire-type uses a Flamethrower at close range. Smoke fills the air and clouds the two Pokémon, causing you to cough as you strain to watch what happens next. As the clouds clear away, you gaze on in amazement as both Apollo and Donphan stand a few feet apart in a deadlock, each of them trying their hardest not to lose consciousness. 1 second ticks by, 2 seconds tick by, 3 seconds tick by… and then the elephant crashes to the ground from a combination of pain and energy loss. Level Up for Apollo!

Cheering loudly, you rush forward to congratulate Apollo on a job well done as shouts and claps ring through the mountain air. The Combusken staggers forward as you come near, dropping down onto one knee. Zaire runs over as well to return his downed Donphan to a Poké Ball. “Nice battle,” he says, extending his hand for you to shake. “I’ll definitely be challenging you to a rematch sometime soon. Your Combusken is really awe—”. Zaire’s compliment fades away as a low rumbling sound fills the air. Rocks that are scattered about begin to bounce this way and that as the earth starts to shake yet again! Your eyes look around for any possible cause of the earthquake, but no other Pokémon battles are occurring, and Donphan had returned to his Poké Ball.

A shout fills the air. “The volcano’s erupting!” Wheeling in shock, you peer up at the towering Mt. Fumi. Through the wisps of clouds that surround the volcano’s peak, you can just make out a glint of fiery lava leaking over the edge. Fear rattles through you at this sight, leaving you speechless. The Open Plain is situated on a plateau that extends outward from the volcano's side; caverns dot the side of the mountain, the only sign of refuge on the wide-open stretch of land. Apollo caws slightly to you and tries his best to stand, staggering forward into your arms as the rumbling continues. The lava begins to trickle down the side of the mountain, continuing to gush out from the crater. Rocks large and small lose grip on the side of the volcano, rattling towards the ground below! Trainers shout in fear and begin to run toward the shelter of the caves; some sprint down the winding trail angling away from the mountain.

What will you do?

Apollo nods as Charm gives his final orders, the trainer then looks to the other side, but he's unable to hear Zaire's orders due to the loud roar of the crowd that suddenly increased in number. We'd better not mess up now, he thinks to himself, holding back any nervous feelings.

Before Charm can get his mind set again, Donphan starts rushing forward wildly in a Double-Edge. "Now's your chance!" Apollo acts quick, mirroring Donphan's previous Bulldoze and tripping the ground elephant as he rattles the ground. Donphan tumbles forward and still smacks into Apollo's side before the Combusken leaps away. Apollo then follows up with another Hidden Power (Grass). The green orbs fly into Donphan's side for some awesome super-effective damage as the ground-type does his best to stand back up. With the onslaught over, Donphan slams into the Young Fowl Pokemon, fueled by his Frustration, right as Apollo spews up a Flamethrower in close quarters. The opponents become surrounded by smoke as a worried-looking Charm stares in silence, praying that his Pokemon is okay. The smoke clears out as the two Pokemon stare each other down for a couple seconds, until Donphan collapses to the ground.

A huge grin meets Charm's mouth as the crowd of onlookers cheer wildly. He rushes to Apollo and drops down on one knee, congratulating the Combusken while making sure his dear friend is not seriously injured. On the other side, Zaire recalls back his fallen Donphan and walks over to Charm. “Nice battle,” he comments, the two trainers clasp each other's hand on the job well done from both sides. “I’ll definitely be challenging you to a rematch sometime soon. Your Combusken is really awe—”. His sentence is cut short when a loud rumbling sound is heard. Rocks start shaking about as Charm looks around to see if another Earth-shaking attack is being done by anyone. No battles are currently occuring and Donphan is resting in Zaire's Pokeball, so what could be happening?

“The volcano’s erupting!” someone shouts. Charm immediately looks at the top of Mt. Fumi. Smoke is pouring out of the tip and Charm can see some lava leaking down down the side of the mountain. Rocks are sliding down the mountainside from all places as everyone panics and runs to find refuge. "Com-bus-ken," Apollo caws, alerting Charm to do something as the Combusken tries to stand, but falling into his trainer's arms as the chaos ensues. Charm sees some people running towards the various trails while others run to the caves for shelter. "... This is not good," Charm merely says. "Apollo, back into your Pokeball. It's the safest place for you to be right now," he clicks his Pokeball, recalling the tired Apollo for his much needed rest. He then sprints off towards the direction of the nearest cave, not certain whether he'll even survive after the eruption.

The constant heat seeping up through Cortoza's volcanic soil has given the island a distinct tropical feel, a vast and winding rainforest taking up a large percentage of the land's mass and surrounding each of Cortoza's mountains. The rainforest is humid and full of life, but also very dangerous. The ground is unstable in certain areas making hiking through the forest dangerous even for the most experienced of guides. Several patches of arid, rocky land dot the island, where no vegetation will grow, and it's there that some of the strongest and most fearsome Pokémon roam.

Areas:Shale Beach: Shale Beach stretches around the outskirts of the island itself. Its sand is gritty and black, not at all the postcard picture you want to be sending home.

It was a black, warm beach with rocky out cropping and thick jungles suffocatingly close. Little Gar, Alli's Darumaka, wasted no time rushing ahead, and pounced relentlessly in the sand. He noticed the shore line, and curiously approached. When the tide rushed up and washed over his small feet, he recoiled loudly in shock, as though he had been badly wounded. Mint approached to check up on him, but Little Gar quickly regained himself and took to hopping around in the sand. Mint followed, doing her best to keep an eye on the hyperactive little guy. She was a precautious little Eevee, and did her best to watch over her teammates. Behind them, Alli stood with her Lopunny, Codi and admired their new location. Codi watched the energetic little Darumaka and grimaced. He really did not like children, and while he had no choice but to put up with his young trainer, Little Gar was a different story. He had no patients for the enthusiastic little guy. Codi watched as Mint tried desperately to keep up with Gar, and could concluded that this adventure was quickly turning out be more trouble than it's worth.
"Well, what do you think?" Alli cheerfully questioned to Codi.
"About what?" All stretched out her hands and indicated the large beach in front of them.
"It's a beach!" Alli kept her arms extended above her proudly. Codi wasn't quiet following.
"Yeah, and?"
"You said it that one time, remember? That I'm always looking for cryptids, and that Pluto is always searching for treasure, but that we never get to visit beaches and stuff." Codi had said something like that, however his objective in a beach visit was to ogle half naked females. A quick glance over the black beach showed definitively that their group was the only ones in sight. Codi sighed, shook his head, and patted his little trainer on the shoulder. Alli took this as a good sign, missing the point entirely, and whipped out her notebook. She flipped through the pages as she went over her notes. Codi lied down in the sand and watched the clouds while trying to come up with an excuse to get him out of this whole mess. He felt a small footprint press into his face as Little Gar ran right over him. Mint approached following him, but she jumped over Codi's face as the same moment that he was getting up, and ended up falling right into his lap. Codi pointed angrily in the other direction.
"Go!" He demanded. Mint's ears fell back on her head and she slumped away from Codi and again tried to keep up with Little Gar. "Arg, these kids," Codi mumbled to himself before falling back down into the sand. Gar waddled up against the jungle wall and ran along side it. Mint continued to follow Gar, but did so while admiring the jungle vegetation.
"Okay guys, listen up!" Alli shouted to her Darumaka and Eevee, who promptly changed course and returned to their trainer. "Here is what we're looking for this time!" She flipped over the notebook and showed a crudely drawn image of worm-like creature that was on fire.
"We're here to find a... fire worm?"
"A fire salamander." Alli corrected.
"Of course."
"They're small, and might actually bare a more amphibious appearance than the one I've drawn."
"Image that."
"They're often spotted near volcanoes, but they also can be dug up in cinder ash, possibly because they tunnel through them. Salamanders can withstand extreme heat, and can become hot to the touch, so make sure you don't try to physically handle one." Mint nodded seriously.
"No problem there," Added Codi. Alli reached into her backpack and pulled out some shovels. Mint realized that this meant that they would be searching the beach, and was a little disappointed. Right off shore was a vast jungle that might have been full of flowers for her to find, but instead they would be staying among the lifeless black sand.
"So lets get looking! We'll know when we're getting close because a Salamander will omit a strong smell of sulfur." Gar eagerly grabbed his shovel and quickly smacked Codi in the shin with it. Codi caught himself before he fell to the ground as Gar darted.
"Oh, you little...!" Codi dashed after Gar, followed quickly by Mint who intended to break up their fight.
"Hey, you guys!" Alli shouted to them after she had been left behind.
"Hiba Hiba Ooba Waka Wa!" Shouted Gar. Codi was not too far behind him, but was also being followed by Mint, and her by Alli. The beach seemly oddly quiet otherwise as the group nosily headed parallel to the shoreline.

A beautiful melody begins to ring out over the mountain peak as your little princess feels that she can be in a battle with the best of them. I am not sure about that, but oh well, you can only get the best of the best in a place like this right? Min keeps playing the flute while you look around anxiously, as the Pokemon who could come out of here are probably rare and extremely powerful. Min stops playing....and the forest oddly enough is quiet. Nothing moves. Not the trees, not the bushes, not the grass. The earth is still, and the wind silent. You are still cautious about what might be around here, but, as time goes by, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Does this flute even work? It must, or maybe the man who sold it to you was a fraud and that you just got scammed. You rip the flute out of Min's hands, and give her a look that would kill....not that it would have done much anways, as she just sticks her tongue out at you in stark defiance. She has been a bit of a pain lately, hasn't she. Maybe it was all the candies that you fed her that made her like this. Who knows? But one thing was for sure. It was getting late, the sun was beginning to set on the mountain, and the hike left you exhausted and tired. You start to pull out all the things you would need to make a camp from your backpack, and look back at Min, who is busy playing around and fulfilling her species OCD about dirt to really care about anything else. You lay out your sleeping bag, when you hear something from inside the bushes. You turn around only to find that it was just a Pidgey, a Pokemon that you really had no reason to be afraid. Min laughs at you for your sudden reaction, and this prompts another death stare from you. You lay out Min's sleeping bag, and start a fire. The fire burns quite easily, and as the sun finally sets, you begin to lay down on the sleeping bag, away from the fire. You find yourself falling asleep quite easily, but at the last moment before you finally go under, you see three pairs of eyes looking at you, though, it that was just a dream or not you are unsure.

Waking the next moment, you find that the campsite is still neat and proper. Nothing is damaged or is moved around. I guess that flute really does not work well at all huh? It does not even seem that Min decided in the middle of the night to start wrecking things on you. You breath out a sigh of relief. Even though Min is not there, you are not really concerned. She is probably off somewhere to make you worry. You get up, and bring a pot over to the fire, which you just started up again, hoping the smell of breakfast would lure her, when you see something on her sleeping bag. It is a bone. You start to panic, your heart beating fast, but, you manage to control yourself as you look again. It was a bone alright, and a somewhat good sized one at that, like some sort of leg bone. The though goes through your head about it being a Mincinno's leg bone, and again you begin to panic, but this time, you are unable to keep it under control. "Min! Min!" you yell out into the forest, not caring about what could actually come out now, all you really care about is your Min. "MIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNN!" you call out one last time, but, to no avail. You plop down on the ground, unsure of where to go. Min could be anywhere in the vast forest, and with no clue and no wherabouts of where she is, finding her would be a nightmare.

What will you do?

A mix of emotions washed over him, both guilt and panic jumbled into one dark mass of desperation. What if those three pairs of eyes weren't a dream after all?! What if someone ate Min? Who knows what kind of creatures the Flute could have ended up luring!! Was that even the Flute's doing?...

Levinn started pacing aimlessly back and forth, like he always did when a problem overwhelmed him. The nerves were clouding his judgment and, for once, he couldn't force himself into calming down and rationalizing. It was closest friend's life on the line here! If she was even alive at all... No. She has to be. Come on Sanders, think! If they'd eaten her right next to you, wouldn't you have heard it? Wouldn't there be blood all over? That bone can't be Min's, it can't be goddamnit!

He reached for a Pokeball in his belt. From it emerged his young, delicate Swablu, named Dolce. Chirping happily before realizing her Trainer was anything but happy, she perched herself on his shoulder, awaiting instructions in silence.

- Sweetie, I have... very bad news. Min went missing. I had a fight with her last night, and this morning someone left a bo... well, she wasn't there. - no point in descrining every single detail about the disappearance of Dolce's beloved lady. - I think she was kidnapped, but I'm sure we can find her! You gotta help me put here... Can you take flight and see if you spot anything unusual? I know it's a dense forest, but any leads would be great... Try your best sweetie, please.

Dolce lived to serve Min. Upon hearing the news, she hurrieldy rose as high as she could in the air, in hopes of spotting anything out of the ordinary in the distance, but Levin knew the odds were small. Fetching a second Pokeball from his belt, he released Opal, his Venonat.

- Opal, please, Min went missing. I think someone took her while I was sleeping... I don't know what good it'll do, but we need any leads we can get... If your Foresight can reveal things we wouldn't normally see, could you give it a try? We're looking for anything that could help, footprints, any sort of traces...

He was taking shots in the dark here. Without any Pokemon with Odor Sleuth, and no other surefire way to track Min down, it was either trying everything he could think of or wandering aimlessly deeper into the forest... But something had to work, it just had to!

((Sorry for the shorter-than-usual reply, I promise I'll be more thorough in my next posts; it's just my big exam is in 8 days and I really can't invest too much time into RPing right now. :/))

You have come here for one purpose, well, okay, not every time. You did come here to meet an ancient Pokemon, but you also had to try and gain the trust of your Drilbur, Guaca. He does not seem to be very friendly, but not every Pokemon is when you first meet them. Hell, I know this personally myself. Have I been breaking the fourth wall a little too much? Okay...you really want to find the Rock Pool, but, you may have problems. You have read something about it in the brochure to come here, but it is really hard to find, and it seems that people either don't come back out or if they do, they can never seem to come back in. You also cannot seem to navigate the deep jungle yourself, despite the fact that Quaca can cut some of the leaves with his clawlike hands. You push through the forest, getting some small cuts and scrapes as the leaves brush past you. You wander, not sure where exactly you are going, before you find an odd clearing.

The clearing was a near perfect circle, if not a perfect ellispe. In the middle of the clearing, which was quite large, was a lake, a lake of perfectly clear water. It was so clear, you were almost sure that you could see striaght to the bottom, though, it also looked very deep. But, the weirdest thing it, that in the middle of the lake was a floating rock. It was actually some sort of platform. But, for it to be levitating in mid-air? How odd. There were also a set of steps right in front of you, so, it makes some sense that you were meant to climb up here. Guaca looks extremely worried about it, and is trying to pull you away. But, you are oddly entranced by it, it seemed to be calling out to you.........................It was.

"If you can survive the Trial of the Wind,
and claim the right to be of few
Who truly have a path to greatness.
Come into my humble abode
and try out for yourself,
whether or not your soul can take it."

The voice was feminine, and very seductive. You felt like you had no choice, but Guaca was still pulling on you. This helps you snap out of the trance. You are sure he is distressed about the rock, but nothing seemed wrong about it. Except it was floating.

What will you do?

OOC: Sorry it took so long to respond, completely missed this. =(

"What's this?" Rob looked at a clearing in front of him, displaying a clear lake in the middle. The trainer looked at a floating platform, completely confused at what he had found. "This certainly wasn't in the brochure," he said chuckling, mesmerized by the beautiful layout in front of him. Guaca only looked on, holding on to his trainer's leg, unsettled by all this. "Come on buddy, let's check it out!" "Dril..." Rob finally noticed more of the rocks, which he would have to use to get to the main floating platform. Guaca seemed to be getting more nervous by the second, planting his feet on the ground, trying to hold Rob from going forward. That is until Rob temporarily gave into the lake's power, as the lake seemed to be calling out to him, literally.

"If you can survive the Trial of the Wind,
and claim the right to be of few
Who truly have a path to greatness.
Come into my humble abode
and try out for yourself,
whether or not your soul can take it."

Rob felt he had little control of his body as he kept going forward, with Guaca pulling him from going forward, finally snapping the trainer from the seductive grasp of the lake and platform. "Dril..." The Drilbur cried out, completely opposed to going forward. "Hey, what did I tell you? We are here for each other buddy! I'll protect you and you'll protect me!" He knelt down as he pet the ground type on the head. "We cannot let an opportunity like this pass! We can do anything if we do it together, alright buddy?" The Drilbur only stared at his trainer for a few seconds before nodding. He still felt completely against the idea of going to the platform, but he felt he needed to prove something to himself. What that was he was still unsure of. "Okay, let's go!" Guaca nodded once again, taking a deep breath as the pair began to make their way to the platform.

Floating serenely in the middle of the ocean, Cortoza is a secluded land mass which was once a beautiful and highly populated tropical island. Two hundred years ago a powerful oceanic earthquake resulted in a chain reaction of death and destruction as Cortoza's active volcanic mountains erupted in a series of cataclysmic explosions that churned out a spectacular display of ash, rock, and molten lava, and finally ending with Mt Fumi's stupendous paroxysmal eruption. All of Cortoza's vegetation was destroyed, while humans and Pokémon not fast enough to flee perished in the resulting destruction as the western end of the island collapsed beneath the sea, generating a series of devastating pyroclastic flows and immense tsunamis that ravaged adjacent coastlines. The events of that day marked the last 24 hours on earth for over 50,000 people and 300,000 Pokémon, as the wave of destruction flowed across hundreds of coastal villages and towns. For the next hundred years nobody dared approach the island due to the constant seismic activity and mini eruptions, but for the past several decades all has been quiet. Pokémon have returned, and with very few people drawn to the volcanic island, wildlife has been given the chance to thrive. Although wary, people are also beginning to venture to Cortoza again, some of the more opportunistic seeing this land as their chance to strike it rich due to its fast-booming tourism industry. Most are curious though, as the island has shown amazing regenerative qualities, and many are eager to explore and to witness the miraculous regrowth for themselves. The tropical jungle is flourishing once more, Pokémon have returned, and as far as everyone is aware most of Cortoza's volcanoes have been laying dormant for almost one hundred years.

Mt. Ceniza

Always grey, Mt. Ceniza is constantly coated in a thin layer of ash. An active volcano, she doesn't appear to be on the verge of eruption - not any time soon, anyway - but her constant rumbling can be felt by those who travel near. This mountain has become a tourist attraction, particularly for those interested in collecting ash, though the tremors felt do tend to keep the more nervous travellers away.

Granite Tunnel: A maze-like tunnel leading up through the inner mountain. Steps have been carved into the rocks so that people can make their way to several different locations of the mountainside in order to bypass the falling ash. A preferable choice for those who prefer to stay clean, but it can get quite warm in here so be sure to bring along a good supply of water. Falling rubble can pose a problem, however, during Mt. Ceniza's stronger tremors so you'll need your wits about you at all times.

Kairne pulled on the boots he had been made to buy at a shop when he had first arrived at Cortoza. Struggling with them and cursing like a sailor, he managed to get them on mostly right. His Shuppet prodded him on the shoulder with an inquisitive look.

"Yes, I know, girl," Kairne said to her, ruffling her head a bit. "They said it was for my own good, because of how unstable this place gets, and because of the heat. I'm just not used to shoes, though." He managed to get the left boot, and then the right, slid on the right way, before making sure the laces were nice and taut. Tying them was an easy task; he knew a lot about knots and was always a very effective camper, not a scout but self-taught. In many things, he was self-taught. "I am never going to be able to walk right in these," he said as he stood up, wobbling slightly in them. "And how am I supposed to watch my back if I can't even see anything. With my bare feet, I could feel the vibrations of threats I couldn't see ahead of me." He sighed, walking awkwardly in through the tunnel's entrance, his Shuppet following along. "I'm blind," he said, resigned. "I'm just plain blind like this. You'll look out for me, girl?" he inquired of the Shuppet. She nodded, but she seemed a little down as well. "And maybe we'll find out your name today," Kairne added. Her eyes lit up a little as he said this, and together they entered the tunnel, both on the watch for anything coming up. Kairne particularly was more tense than he had ever been on any previous adventure, due to the debilitating handicap placed upon his senses.

You Anorith, Pontos, grips your midsection with its large claws as you cradle it, causing you to grit your teeth a little bit. But, of course, adventuring with your little Anorith for the first time was good enough to endure this kind of pain. The little Anorith might be at a low level, but, you are sure that your Rhyperior will be able to protect you. You walk ever forward, the leaves from the dense jungles brushing past you and leaving small nicks and scratches on your arms. But, suddenly, you reach a clearing. This is not a normal clearing either. The "ground" is actually some sort of blue stone. Marble? Slate? Granite? Whatever it is, the stone is shiny and blue, with the look of stone that was just laid yesterday. That must be impossible, however. The amount of handicraft needed and workers needed would have taken months to complete. And even by that time, the endless rains and scorching heat of the island of Mt. Infernus would have weathered down the rocks very quickly. Even in a few months, there would have been cracks and broken stones. But, it was pristine. Hell, even shiny. You walk across the marble, your footsteps making small tapping noises as they hit the blue stone. You continue walking on the stone, when you see something in the stone. It looks like...a hole? No, not a hole. It is a little bit too neat to be just a random hole in the ground. Plus, it is paved with a lining of stones. No, it is an entrance. With a ladder inside of it.

Thinking that this has to lead somewhere and that it might even be the Rock Pool itself, you descend the ladder, again, marveled by the fact that the wood does not creak or bend under your feet. Another weird thing about this place. You reach the bottom of the ladder, and turn around. In front of you it a large door. No, large door is not the best word for it. How about huge? Or gigantic? or humungous! The door was positively massive. It was probably thirty to forty feet high, and looked to be easily a couple of feet think. And, it was made out of solid steel. Or some sort of metal. You doubted that even a raging Rhyperior could have pushed his way through this door. A large brass knocker adorned the door, but other than that, it was pretty nondescript....as giant doors go anyways. You see in surprise that an Alakazam walks up to you, probably the doors gate keeper, and sits down in front of you. He says nothing to you, but just sits there, waiting. "Well, young boy, it is rude to keep a man waiting!" Shocked by the fact that he could talk(though, he was an Alakazam, so, it may not be TOO shocking), you just stand there stunned. "Well, someone is deader than a doorknob today. I might as well just give the speech after all." He gets up, and walks to a small alcove on the side of the wall, grabbing a small pouch. He walks back over to you, and sits down again. "This, boy, it what one might call a trial of sorts. See, none get to the Rock Pool easily, and this is because there are some truly fearsome Pokemon in there. Pokemon, if they were to get out, would wreck havoc on the mainland. This trial was built so that only the best of the best would go on to the Rock Pool, in hopes that they could tame the power within. However, none of them have ever come back." He grabs something from his pouch, revealing a small pipe which he lights with a FIRE PUNCH, and smokes a few puffs. "I know, I know, its a bad habit. But, one I got from my trainer, before he met his time I'm afraid. Old age though, nothing to serious. Anyways, if you, good sir, want to get in the Rock Pool, you are going to have to face the trails ahead of you. They will challenge the four thing essential to a trainer: Logic, Wisdom, Sharp Senses, and of course, Battling Skills. I won't tell you in which order either. Oh, and to make sure that a trainer is truly tested, you may only bring one Pokemon inside the trial. The rest will be returned when you get to the Rock Pool. I hope you understood that, because I am only saying it once."

What will you do?

Mt. InfernusScenic WalkwayDark Searchman

You, Amethyst, and Sarkahn all run up the Scenic Walk, with Solaris hitchhiking a ride on your arms. You would think that such a person would be hard to find, but, truthfully, the frequent shakes and tremors from his "art" were more than enough to be able to locate him. It was basically like sonar or radar, the closer you got to him, the stronger and stronger the signal was. You have to take a break at one point, but, finally, reach the vandal in question.

For a scandal artist, he wasn't that impressive. He kinda looked like some sort of quintessentially eighties guy you would see from a movie like Christine or Grease. He had the slicked back hair, and a pair of shades that almost looked like a pair of triangles. They shined black, and were obviously quite reflective. He has a leather jacket on with a bunch of studs and buttons on it, and he had a more casual T-shirt on underneath, white of course so it has some sort of contrast with the leather jacket. He had a pair of fades jeans on, and a pair of black sneakers. Looking at his face though, you could see that something about this man was off. He was very pale, like he had been inside for days, no weeks. And, he was very skinny. Near gaunt like in fact. It was odd. It was like looking at a living skeleton almost. "Alright you two! We are going to make this one a masterpiece, just like all the rest of them! Dugtrio! Use your Earth Power to rip a big gash into that rock! Krokorok! Give it a Dark Pulse to add some nice flair to the piece! Make it as dark as night!" His Pokemon followed orders. Dugtrio spun around in the ground and released a shock wave of earth energy with his might EARTH POWER. Blasts of energy ripped through the rock, sending chunks of it flying. When all was done, a large crack had formed in the side of the mountain. Then, the Krokorok opened his mouth, and a large ball of dark energy formed inside of it. Then, another shock wave of energy blasts out, but this time, it is dark energy. It hits the gash on the side of the mountain and transforms it into the side of a skull. Even the outline of the jawbone was to a tee. These were obviously experts at what they were doing, but, it needed to stop. "Alright boys. This one is looking to be pretty good if I may say so myself. If we can cover the entire mountain in skulls, I am sure going to be one happy man! Ha ha ha ha!"

What will you do?

Mt. PelePele's TempleKing Ghidorah

Throw looked pretty beaten down because of the powerful attacks he had to endure earlier. But, he still has quite a bit of energy left, and quickly moves behind Kingler, using his large body as a sort of protective shield. Kingdra wants to keep the pressure on Throw, and creates another orb of dragon energy in its mouth, ready to fire it off like a cannon at the Fighting type. Kingler looks at the orb and sees that it would deal quite a bit of damage to Throw. Wanting to protect its partner in battle, Kingler throws up a protective bubble of energy that surrounds both him and Throw, precisely when Kingdra releases the orb of energy. Kingler closes his eyes as he braces for impact, but the energy shield is more than adequate for taking the attack, not budging at all. Throw gives a friendly look at Kingler for protecting him from the powerful attack. But, Kingler himself is not out of the clear yet. Houndoom puts his tail into the sunlight, and opens his mouth with a howl. Suddenly, his body begins to glow a bright yellow color as he begins to harness energy from the sunlight to power a very strong attack that is sure to rock Kingler's world. Suddenly, the light drains from Houndoom's body and creates a massive beam of light that overtakes both Throw and Kingler in one blast. Kingler and Throw both groan under the strength of the powerful attack, especially Kingler. Houndoom looks a little worn out after that, and Throw begins his preparations for a powerful counter-attack. His body becomes covered in a strong red aura that is built into taking attacks.

Kingler strikes out against Houndoom with some serious offensive moves. It lifts its claw into the air, before releasing a powerful blast of water. Houndoom grimaces from the water, but dear, that is only part of the attack. Kingler suddenly goes into reverse mode, sucking up the water into a powerful vacuum. Normally, Houndoom would have the strength to grip his claws and hold on tight, but his just does not have the strength and is sucked up by the powerful suction, raking across the ground and taking extra damage from the attack. Kingdra sees that the Kingler used a powerful attack, and charges up a small ball of dragon energy inside of its mouth. It shoots it up to the ceiling, where it splits apart. This is the powerful Draco Meteor attack, and it bombards both Throw and Kingler, where it deals a ton of damage to each. After that attack, however, Kingdra looks to be pretty exhausted. Houndoom gets back up from the attack, and jumps at Kingler with mouth outstretched. It goes to clamp down on Kingler's big claw, but, Kingler is able to release another powerful blast of water at Houndoom. It flies in the air along with the water, barking and yipping as it does not want to be on the ground. Kingler brings back the suction, and Houndoom is pulled into the claw with the water. Kingler shakes him out, and Houndoom just could not take anymore, and is all swirly eyed now. At the moment, both Kingler and Kingdra look exhausted from using so many powerful attacks. Throw is in a Bide and it will take two turns to completion.

What will you do?

The IslandShale Beachmyahoo

Cid looks at you and gets a smile on his face after the look of actual hate that was on there when he was talking about the organization. It seems that he likes the fact of having a little bit of "borrowed muscle." "We would be glad to have you aboard. I don't think I caught your name, but I might have forgotten. With all the stuff that happens around here, I find it hard to remember not to come to work in my sleep clothes. This is a stressful job." He walks over to a section of beach that has been marked off with tape. A man walks up to him, with a beige hat that was like one you would see from an archeologist. "Well, well Cid. Who is the new recruit we have here today?" "You know, I kinda forgotten his name. You know how I can be at times." The man laughed heartily at this. Apparently, he is one of those people who can love a good laugh. "Oh trust me, with the amount of time the two of us have worked together, I would know personally that you can be a little forgetful when work starts to pile up. What exactly brought us here anyway?" "They found some artifacts here on the beach. Nothing particularly special, but this young man managed to find a second staff like the one we have at the museum." "He did really. This is a good find. Hopefully we can find other things on this beach." Cid looks at you, and says, "This is a good acquaintance of mine. His name is Manny. He has worked with me on the Lufenian project for over five years. He can get you started on the dig. I have to bring the staff back to the museum. I won't leave for a little bit, so, if you want to come, just say so. There should still be enough time to do the dig afterwards, depending on how long it takes." Cid leaves now, going to tent next to a Jeep.

"Well, kid. Like he said, my name is Manny. I have been working on this for so long I can barely remember a time where my mind has not been filled with the possible wonders the Lufenians had. If you want to be able to dig, you first need to get changed. Then, you need to get a few things from a man in the tent next to the dressing tent. You are going to need a shovel, a pickaxe, a hammer, and most importantly, a toothbrush. Once you have all these things, I want you to come back here. We think that over here might be a good place to dig."

What will you do?

The IslandGarland BasinSon_of_Shadows

Kirsten looks at you with a shocked look on her face, like she had never considered the possibility before and she was just slapped in the face by reality. She looks down and begins to slam her fists into the ground, causing her knuckles to bleed. "God damn it. You're right. We could easily kill ourselves with this." She gets up and grabs a piece of cloth on a counter in the hut. It was pretty stained with blood, and was pretty long; not something you would find on a hand or even an arm. Something more likely that you would find on somebody's back. "But, I know one thing. Horus loves me. He would never abandon me here in this evil place. He knows how miserable I would be here. The only reason he is not here right now is because of the village. It is kinda hard hiding a five foot long serpent, despite his ability to Dig. If I didn't go to look for him, I would be putting his memory to shame." She gets up hastily, and begins to search under counters and under her bed. All the while, her shirt does little to cover up her "unmentionables", which causes you to look away quickly. Damn your libido indeed. She continues to look around the hut. "Oh no....it's gone. Horus's Pokeball. My mom must have taken it from me. I would love to have my little Horus to carry with me. But, finding him is more important."

She sits back down and gives a deep breath in and out. "Well, night is not too far away. Another couple of hours or so. For now, I can see what I can do for your little Munna." She motions that she wants to hold her. Steven happily obliges, and sits in Kirsten's hands. She observed him for a moment, then pokes him with the end of her finger. Steven does not react at all to this. "Wow...this is a really powerful drug. I'm not exactly sure what it is to be frank. It looks like some sort of mind-altering drug. I might have something that will work, but we will need to go out into the forest to get it. It is an herb that...clears the mind. It gets rid of any mind-altering substances in the body. Unfortunately, it has side-effects......bad side effects. Your Munna should be fine though. It is when it is used on people that things turn bad..." She looks down and begins to cry again, and this time, she punches the ground with the cloth on. It still has some fresh blood on it, but no more comes out. "Let us just find Horus. That is all I want."

What will you do/say?

The IslandIgnatius RiverLASL

The Scyther looks at your and Sparow with a death glare, and it seems that it is going down soon. Maybe even really soon? Anyways, the Scyther charges at Sparow, even landing on its legs, suffering the pain to launch an attack at Sparow. Its claw swings at Sparow, who makes a quick dodge, but, that wa not the real attack. Scyther merely intended it as a diversion, and the real attack was actually behind Sparow. He swings his other scythe in a more horizontal fashion, and strikes Sparow in the back. Sparow goes flying, and rolls on the ground, taking a little bit of damage from the pretty underhanded move. Sparow gives a loud squawk. She has the advantage, and she knows. She squawks again, and creates a little bundle of energy in her mouth. This attack is multicolored, in three distinct stripes of red, blue, and yellow. Sparow shoots out the powerful Tri Attack, and Scyther manages to dodge a little bit of attack. But, it still does quite a bit of damage, and Scyther actually drops on one knee from injuries. He gets back up, but grimaces in pain from his leg. He now looks desperate instead of angry, and tries to take another step forward. He lands on the leg, and screams out a "SCCCCYYYYY!" The pain in his leg is too real right now.

Sparow is not going to let the bug get away either. She funnels in the dark side, where they have been expecting here and have much cookies to give, into a powerful dark attack. Covered in dark energy, she glides into the air, actually enjoying getting into the air a little bit. She slams into Scyther's leg, and causes him to fall over. Scyther yells out in pain. He tries to get back up, but when he steps up on the leg again, he falls over and again screams in pain. Scyther breathes in one last gasp, but then, he slouches on the ground. Sparow looks into Scyther's eyes, and sees that they are all swirly and KO. Scyther was defeated!

Sparow gains one level!

Gardevoir lowers its barrier, and Turt jumps down from the tree. She floats over to you, and enters your mind again. She is still overpowering, almost driving out all of your thoughts. "Thank you brave trainer for battling the Scyther. We didn't know what to do. That Scyther's speed was too much for me, and he was too strong for little Turt. For your brave efforts, we would like to give you this small token of our appreciation." Gardevoir sticks her hand out, and in her hand is a Durin Berry. "This berry is known for its strong bitter taste. We happen to gather them for decorations, as I find them rather pretty." Turt enters in too, but his prescence is much weaker compared to the Gardevoir's. "Thawnk you! But, what are you going to do about the Scythwer?"

True, what will you do?

Mt. InfernusWaterfallTakeo

As you push the blue shield out of the way, they look back at you. You notice this, and look at them. "Well, I only hope you know what you are doing kid. And remember, in this temple, nothing is as it seems." You only shrug off the comment. You take a step on a tile, and it shifts slightly in position. You look around, and see nothing happening. Merely chalking up the circumstance to poor maintenance of the temple, you take another step forwards. Suddenly, a trap door springs, and you fall head-first into the trap door. Suddenly, you find yourself being held...by hands? Many, many, black slimy hands. You hang in mid-air, it seems, upside-down. "Well, well. Looks like someone came down the wrong hole...." You see hands move in front of you, and form a face. "Well, we are here to help. We are Helping Hands of course." To your right, another face forms with fingertips for eyes. "Sure, we'd love to help you." You squirm and shake as the hands grab your arms and legs. I don't think that anyone would like to be in a situation that you were in right now. "Boy, oh boy, would you stop squirming? We are only trying to help." said a hand with an, oddly enough, normal voice. "Well, maybe he doesn't want our help. You know how independent people are now-a-days. Maybe, he would like us to let go." said a face with a very deep baritone, before laughing maniacally and the hands dropping you. You find yourself in a free fall, falling down into the hole. You can see the walls of the hole, and the black hands. Hundreds of black hands. You wonder if they are going to let you fall to your death, before again you feel the hands grab you. You stop squirming for now, as obviously falling to your death is not on your menu.

"Well, now that you have decided to cooperate for a little bit, here comes the million dollar question. Which way?" "Yes, which way to you want to go, hmm?" "Yes, up or down?" You look up and down, not sure of which way you would want to go. "Come on, come on. We don't have all day." "Yes! Which way?" "Up?" "Down?"

What will you do, hmmm?

Mt. SenicaCinder VillageCoolz8

"Documentation? What in the world?" August seems quite puzzled by what you meant by documentation. "Kids today and all of their new fancy stuff causing them to say things that I don't understand. Listen, I will show you around. Don't worry about that." Suddenly, his watch starts to beep, and he looks down. "Oh no, not again. Please not today. Let him forget about it today." Suddenly, you hear running behind you. It is a boy with a black hat, with spikes in the back and a red stripe around it. He is wearing a solid black jacket, a little odd considering how hot the weather is, and a zip up shirt underneath, colored red and while. He carries a red should bag with him, and his pants are a pair of denim jeans. On his feet are a pair of sneakers, black, with red shoelaces. "Yo, August! What in the world do you think you are doing, trying to get out of battling me?" "Listen here Blaze. I have beaten you, what, six, seven times in the past month. There is no way you are going to be able to beat me yet." "But I got new moves on Pokemon, you will see. They are going to rock your world." "That is what you said the last time. My Golurk was easily able to beat three of your Pokemon the last time we battled." "Well, yeah..but this time it will be different, I promise you." "Blaze, I simply don't have time to battle right now. I have this kid, that I am supposed to be...., wait." He looks at you, and you see that a smile forms on his face. "The kid! Why don't you battle him? He seems good enough to warrant a battle. Why do you say to that Blaze?" "Um....yeah, sure. But I will beat him, that I will." "Alright now. Get your head out of yer *** and battle him then," he looks at you again, "I am going to be getting some supplies before we leave. Trust me, where we are going, it gets hot, so bringing water is always a good thing to do." August leaves with his Golurk, leaving you with Blaze.

"Well, you surely don't look to tough to handle. Hell, I think I might even be able to beat you with one of my weaker Pokemon!" Blaze grabs a Heavy Ball from his bag, and throws it out into the pathway. "Emperor, my friend come on out!" the ball opens and releases a Rhyhorn, who gives a mighty ROAR and it enters the battle. "This looks like it will be fun for the both of us. Let us make this battle a 2 on 2, shall we?" Emperor grunts and paws at the ground, ready for a trainer that will give it a serious challenge.

What will you do?

Mt. InfernusMountain PeakMarbleZone

Your little Pokemon Dolce and Opal look at you with concern, and each of them goes their separate ways, Dolce flying into the sky while Venonat searches the forest. Split timelines occurring.

Dolce

Flapping your wings at Levin's request, you soar into the sky. Life is good, and you can feel the wind on your feathers. It is a beautiful day as well, in fact, the whole day seems good. Except for the fact that Min was kidnapped. Min is so cool! How could she be taken away by anybody? She is so powerful too. Well, you are going to save her. Totally. Nothing is going to stand in your way today. Not even giant dragons.

....

Well, maybe giant dragons. But, you could deal with them if you really had to. Looking around for Min, you see a large hole in the forest. You fly down to the hole and hover over it, but see nothing. No sign of Min. No sign of ANYTHING. 'It looks like something hit this place with a "bomb" I think it is?' True, the devastation is astonishing. Trees burnt to the ground is a flash fire. Nothing is living there anymore. 'This must have just happened. Oh boy.' You fly higher and higher into the sky, almost up in the clouds, to see if you could get a better look. When you look at the mountain again, you see something more shocking. There are more holes like it. Many more holes. 'Oh no, what could have done this?' You think, before your draconic heritage kicks in. 'OMG. That is a....Draco Meteor attack! And it is HUGE!' For the first time, you actually begin to consider if Min is okay. 'I've heard of the move from my mom. What in the world could have made such a huge attack? OH NO. It must be a giant dragon!' Suddenly, you hear a whooshing sound behind you. You spin around, to find that nothing is there. 'OH NO. Is something following me?' As if an answer, you hear a piercing call of a bird. Spinning around again, you see that a metal bird flying towards you. You try to fly away, but the bird grabs you with its talons87. You struggle in the powerful grip, before finding some purchase in the bird's metal hide and squeezing out. You flap away as fast as you can, but the Skarmory is faster, and PECKS you repeatedly. It causes quite a bit of pain, and try to fight back somehow, but it is all to naught. your PECKS band against the metal hide, and you hurt your beak a little bit.

What will you do?

Levin, Opal

You look at Opal with angst, as you want to find Min as soon as possible. With no signs of anything of the like, you hope that Opal's FORESIGHT will be able find something you will be able to work with. Opal shakes her head as her eyes glow red for a moment before a bright red light covers the forest. Opal then searches around the area with intent, looking every which way until she jumps up and down and squeaks. She runs to a spot in the clearance, which you go to. Looking down, you don't see anything out of the ordinary. It was just a patch of dirt. Opal sees that you don't see what she sees, and grabs a hold of your leg. Suddenly, your vision is covered in red, and you look down and see that there is two brightly glowing spots in the ground. One is a bright blueish-green spot, and is quite large, and the other is an oddly shaped dark as night spot. Only, the more you look at it, the more you realize that it is not a spot, but teeth marks. Something big did this, and judging by the brightness of the spot, it was done recently. You look at Opal, as she looks at you, when you notice something else. It was not apparent at first, but the entire clearing in the ground had a very slight blueish-green glow to it. Opal then lets go of your leg, and points in the direction where she thinks that Min went.

What will you do?

Mt. CenizaThe Rock PoolItzatrap

While your Drilbur is concerned about the platform, he begrudgingly follows you onto the platform. As you step onto the highest part, right above the lake, you hear another voice in your head.

Lay onto the pedestal, little one. And all will be revealed to you.

This time, Guaca actually yells out to you and stands in your way, but again, the seductive power of the woman's voice pulls you forward, in a complete trance. Guaca actually has to move out of the way to prevent from being stepped on. You lay down onto the platform, and you suddenly come back your senses. But, you find that you are paralyzed all over. You can't move at all. Looking up, you see that the wind is blowing in front of you. It turns green in front of you, and takes the shape of a woman.

Well, you are about to do me a big favor. It has been sooooooo long since I have been able to do this.

Spoiler:- Potentially graphic:

Before you can ask what "this" is, the wind woman comes over you, and you suddenly find yourself in a whole hurricane of weird as hell ****. You feel some of the most amazing pleasure you have ever felt, like eating a million tacos at the same time, but at the same time, you feel something come into your mind, and completely overtake it.

Trust me, you will love this. I will be yours.....

Images of death and destruction fill your head. You see a solider being shot in the head and torso by a machine gun, and you feel his pain. Your mind try to recoil back, which causes the other presence to moan in pleasure.

Please, please do that again. Rock my world.

Another picture comes again of a man being tortured, a hot iron being pressed into his forehead. You can feel his pain, and it mixes with the pleasure from the woman and causes the oddest sensation you have ever felt.

Almost, almost. Just one more.

The next picture that comes to your head is easily the most terrifying. You are a person standing in a city, when a plane flies overhead. Something drops from the plane, and explodes. A massive rush of heat pours over your body, and you feel your flesh burn off of your body. It was the A-bomb that was dropped over Nagasaki. Suddenly, you hear one final moan, before nothing.

Guaca

The wind moves off of Rob's body, and you jump up on the pedestal to see how he is. You don't exactly trust Rob, but you don't want to see him hurt. Looking into his eyes, you see they are blank as a piece of paper. Looking above, you see the spirit. It hisses at you, not wanting you to disturb her prize. With a voice that stymied with hate, it yelled out, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! HE IS MINE!!!!" You were not going to let something horrible happen to Rob. That would be a bad thing to do, and you were not bad. You charge your claws up with purple energy, before slamming them into the rock, with the power of a GIGA IMPACT. Suddenly, the rock begins to crack and break, and suddenly, quake. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" The rock suddenly falls, and smashes into the lake. You grab on to Rob, and perform a RAPID SPIN, spinning around really fast, so that you could stay on the water's edge. Rob spins around fast to, but his weight it too much and he flies away, falling on the shore of the lake. You stop spinning and swim back to shore, and look at Rob. 'Oh no....what am I going to do now? There has to be something I can do to wake him up.' Suddenly, a path clears in front of you, as if of magic. You hear a voice inside of your head, saying:

I can bring you to where his soul is held. You can save him...if you want.

What will you do Guaca?

Mt. CenizaGranite TunnelKairne

You walk into the tunnel with your Shuppet, who interestingly enough has not been named yet. Walking down the tunnel, you see that the light becomes dimmer and dimmer and dimmer before finally the light goes dark. You stand in one place before your eyesight gets used to the dark surroundings, before looking at your Shuppet, who can easily see in the surroundings. You pull a small flashlight out of your sack, and shine it, it lighting up a wall. And what you see is amazing. Deep, interlocked into the stone, is a vein of pure gold. Most gold is pure anyways, because of its chemical inertness. You move closer to it, the metal being very shiny and casting a little light behind you. You move the flashlight around, and see something the more interesting. The walls all have gold inside of them. You might have went somewhere you weren't supposed to. I mean, if there was all this gold here, why didn't somebody mine it all for the money? Looking back on the wall, you see something on the wall that was not there before.

You something really small, not even 10 cm long. It looks at you with little blue eyes, before jittering around, and jumping onto your shirt. It was a Joltik, and it seems to have taken a liking to you. You look at it and it squeaks at you, before jumping off of your shirt and running off deeper into the cave. Apparently, it wants to play with it. Maybe a game of hide and go seek, or a game of tag? Who knows if a Joltik knew about such things, but it was certainly adorable. Shuppet appears to want to play as well, squeaking itself before flying off into the darkness.

"Documentation? What in the world?" August seems quite puzzled by what you meant by documentation. "Kids today and all of their new fancy stuff causing them to say things that I don't understand. Listen, I will show you around. Don't worry about that." Suddenly, his watch starts to beep, and he looks down. "Oh no, not again. Please not today. Let him forget about it today." Suddenly, you hear running behind you. It is a boy with a black hat, with spikes in the back and a red stripe around it. He is wearing a solid black jacket, a little odd considering how hot the weather is, and a zip up shirt underneath, colored red and while. He carries a red should bag with him, and his pants are a pair of denim jeans. On his feet are a pair of sneakers, black, with red shoelaces. "Yo, August! What in the world do you think you are doing, trying to get out of battling me?" "Listen here Blaze. I have beaten you, what, six, seven times in the past month. There is no way you are going to be able to beat me yet." "But I got new moves on Pokemon, you will see. They are going to rock your world." "That is what you said the last time. My Golurk was easily able to beat three of your Pokemon the last time we battled." "Well, yeah..but this time it will be different, I promise you." "Blaze, I simply don't have time to battle right now. I have this kid, that I am supposed to be...., wait." He looks at you, and you see that a smile forms on his face. "The kid! Why don't you battle him? He seems good enough to warrant a battle. Why do you say to that Blaze?" "Um....yeah, sure. But I will beat him, that I will." "Alright now. Get your head out of yer *** and battle him then," he looks at you again, "I am going to be getting some supplies before we leave. Trust me, where we are going, it gets hot, so bringing water is always a good thing to do." August leaves with his Golurk, leaving you with Blaze.

"Well, you surely don't look to tough to handle. Hell, I think I might even be able to beat you with one of my weaker Pokemon!" Blaze grabs a Heavy Ball from his bag, and throws it out into the pathway. "Emperor, my friend come on out!" the ball opens and releases a Rhyhorn, who gives a mighty ROAR and it enters the battle. "This looks like it will be fun for the both of us. Let us make this battle a 2 on 2, shall we?" Emperor grunts and paws at the ground, ready for a trainer that will give it a serious challenge.

What will you do?

"Um..."

"Uh...."

Frinth stared at him with a smile tinged with nervousness, though not crooked in any way. His expression still remained firm, though his plan was somehow interrupted. Trick sat beside him, and your former chat with him remained in mind.

"So, Trick. I'll be getting you around forty levels higher than you are now, which may actually take a while. I'm simply getting Flight prepared to replace your position temporarily. And I won't be seeing you for a few weeks."
Trick looked around the Citadel, and stared at a monitor which displayed Flight, a little Trapinch traded to him by a prominent veteran of a group Frinth had been introduced to by Rey.
The little one was crawiling around, and he playfully bit on one of the rubber balls around. A glowing aura was around him, much was the characteristic of the Daycare Center. Where any pokemon may stay for a single week to gain a level, for free. But there were these special occasions where a Super pass would be distributed throughout the Fizzy Bubbles clan, where your pokemon may be transferred to a room where the experience rate is twice as fast. Not to mention twice as much candy from a trip to the Pokemart.
"Another week from now, then... And I'll be taking out myself to the other side of my subconsciousness." Trick remarked.

Trick nodded and Frinth halted reminisce.

Frinth turned to Blaze. "Hey there..." He realized another memory, taking it from a stream of names rushing through a breeze of text. "Hmm... You do seem familiar. Haven't I seen you in the Anime-Style Battling Group or somewhere in the FB clan?"

"Anyway, I could already predict the outcome of this one. My pokemon are simply not ready yet, and I have a five-month long goal involving half my team. I'm sorry but I may have to turn you down for now."

He looked around to discern another path.

"Well, I could fight you once my trip with August has concluded. And before I go on another one, I may be up for battle, which is, If you get to find me on time. And you'll have a better chance of doing so If you come join me on this one and I'll most probably change my mind earlier. So, Will you accompany me?

You might even find something of value to you."

Frinth stretched out his hand, and a grin waited for a single response.

The Scyther looks at your and Sparow with a death glare, and it seems that it is going down soon. Maybe even really soon? Anyways, the Scyther charges at Sparow, even landing on its legs, suffering the pain to launch an attack at Sparow. Its claw swings at Sparow, who makes a quick dodge, but, that wa not the real attack. Scyther merely intended it as a diversion, and the real attack was actually behind Sparow. He swings his other scythe in a more horizontal fashion, and strikes Sparow in the back. Sparow goes flying, and rolls on the ground, taking a little bit of damage from the pretty underhanded move. Sparow gives a loud squawk. She has the advantage, and she knows. She squawks again, and creates a little bundle of energy in her mouth. This attack is multicolored, in three distinct stripes of red, blue, and yellow. Sparow shoots out the powerful Tri Attack, and Scyther manages to dodge a little bit of attack. But, it still does quite a bit of damage, and Scyther actually drops on one knee from injuries. He gets back up, but grimaces in pain from his leg. He now looks desperate instead of angry, and tries to take another step forward. He lands on the leg, and screams out a "SCCCCYYYYY!" The pain in his leg is too real right now.

Sparow is not going to let the bug get away either. She funnels in the dark side, where they have been expecting here and have much cookies to give, into a powerful dark attack. Covered in dark energy, she glides into the air, actually enjoying getting into the air a little bit. She slams into Scyther's leg, and causes him to fall over. Scyther yells out in pain. He tries to get back up, but when he steps up on the leg again, he falls over and again screams in pain. Scyther breathes in one last gasp, but then, he slouches on the ground. Sparow looks into Scyther's eyes, and sees that they are all swirly and KO. Scyther was defeated!

Sparow gains one level!

Gardevoir lowers its barrier, and Turt jumps down from the tree. She floats over to you, and enters your mind again. She is still overpowering, almost driving out all of your thoughts. "Thank you brave trainer for battling the Scyther. We didn't know what to do. That Scyther's speed was too much for me, and he was too strong for little Turt. For your brave efforts, we would like to give you this small token of our appreciation." Gardevoir sticks her hand out, and in her hand is a Durin Berry. "This berry is known for its strong bitter taste. We happen to gather them for decorations, as I find them rather pretty." Turt enters in too, but his prescence is much weaker compared to the Gardevoir's. "Thawnk you! But, what are you going to do about the Scythwer?"

True, what will you do?

El cheered as the scyther finally succumbed to its injuries. Hah! Mind over giant murderous bug, arcanines! She does a little dance, fist pumping the air and doing an impression of a spearow cry. Sparow buried her head in her wing, knowing her trainer didn't really mean what she'd just accidentally said. The girl was celebrating, and understandably so. Still, Sparow would have liked some recognition for actually being the one to put her life on the line.

El is brought back from her impromptu interpretative dance routine by gardevoir approaching. The powerful psychic's mental presence was enough to clear her mind. "Thank you brave trainer for battling the Scyther. We didn't know what to do. That Scyther's speed was too much for me, and he was too strong for little Turt. For your brave efforts, we would like to give you this small token of our appreciation." El took the decently large berry by its stem, twirling it around. "This berry is known for its strong bitter taste. We happen to gather them for decorations, as I find them rather pretty." El could see why. The intricate structure of the fruit was almost inorganic, various rectangular protrusions covering it's skin. It was a lovely shade of green, too.

"Thank you ma'am," said El, voice still wavering from her adrenaline high, "it was the least I could do. Turt asked for help and I agreed, it would have been rude, not to mention cruel, to just leave you. I'm sure that your son will grow to be a handsome young pokemon."

Speaking of Turt, he had his own contribution to make to the dialogue. "Thawnk you! But, what are you going to do about the Scythwer?" He had a good point, leaving it there would probably mean it would just attack again, undoing all their hard work. But she was a trainer, and was stocked as one would be. Fumbling around in the pockets of her bag, (ghost ball, a collection of cards, some TMs and a squishy toy unown) she pulled out a pokeball [1/10] and casually lobbed it at the scyther. It missed, El hurriedly dashing over and throwing it again. It failed to activate. Third time's the charm and El finally managed to get the darn thing to work, crossing her fingers to see how this would end...

As you push the blue shield out of the way, they look back at you. You notice this, and look at them. "Well, I only hope you know what you are doing kid. And remember, in this temple, nothing is as it seems." You only shrug off the comment. You take a step on a tile, and it shifts slightly in position. You look around, and see nothing happening. Merely chalking up the circumstance to poor maintenance of the temple, you take another step forwards. Suddenly, a trap door springs, and you fall head-first into the trap door. Suddenly, you find yourself being held...by hands? Many, many, black slimy hands. You hang in mid-air, it seems, upside-down. "Well, well. Looks like someone came down the wrong hole...." You see hands move in front of you, and form a face. "Well, we are here to help. We are Helping Hands of course." To your right, another face forms with fingertips for eyes. "Sure, we'd love to help you." You squirm and shake as the hands grab your arms and legs. I don't think that anyone would like to be in a situation that you were in right now. "Boy, oh boy, would you stop squirming? We are only trying to help." said a hand with an, oddly enough, normal voice. "Well, maybe he doesn't want our help. You know how independent people are now-a-days. Maybe, he would like us to let go." said a face with a very deep baritone, before laughing maniacally and the hands dropping you. You find yourself in a free fall, falling down into the hole. You can see the walls of the hole, and the black hands. Hundreds of black hands. You wonder if they are going to let you fall to your death, before again you feel the hands grab you. You stop squirming for now, as obviously falling to your death is not on your menu.

"Well, now that you have decided to cooperate for a little bit, here comes the million dollar question. Which way?" "Yes, which way to you want to go, hmm?" "Yes, up or down?" You look up and down, not sure of which way you would want to go. "Come on, come on. We don't have all day." "Yes! Which way?" "Up?" "Down?"

What will you do, hmmm?

"Well, I only hope you know what you are doing kid. And remember, in this temple, nothing is as it seems." The guards warn, but Hallow simply scoffs and shrugs off the comment. Hallow takes his first step inside, slightly shifting the tile from its previous position. He tenses up and looks around but nothing happens, Hallow breaths in a bit relieved, he continues forward, "And here I thought I just activated a booby trAPPPPPPPPPP!!!," he drops head first through a trap door,

"AHHHHHHHHH!!,"
suddenly he stops his descend down and notices he is being held...by hands? "Ugh, slim ones at that...,"

He farntically looks around and notices hundreds of them.

Hallow was now hanging upside down with a signal hand keeping him from falling to what could very well have been his death, his arms crossed in annoyance,

"Well, well. Looks like someone came down the wrong hole...." to his left he sees hands move in front of him, and form a face. "Well, we are here to help. We are Helping Hands of course." To Hallows right, another face forms with fingertips for eyes. "Sure, we'd love to help you."

Hallow squirms trying to set himself free, lifted by his arms and legs,

"Boy, oh boy, would you stop squirming? We are only trying to help." said a hand with an, oddly enough, normal voice.

"Well, maybe he doesn't want our help. You know how independent people are now-a-days. Maybe, he would like us to let go." said a face with a very deep baritone, before laughing maniacally and the hands dropping him.

Hallow finds himself in a free fall, "AHHHHHHH!," falling down into the hole, he wonders if this is what it was like for Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

Hallow could see the walls of the hole, and the black hands. Hundreds of black hands. Wondering if they were going to let him just fall to his death, but again Hallow is stopped midair by the hands grabbing him and lifting him. Hallow takes a deep breath, with his heart pounding so loud in his ear its as if his heart was about to explode. With all his blood having been rushed to his brain he find himself in a sort relax state.

"Well, now that you have decided to cooperate for a little bit, here comes the million dollar question. Which way?"

"Yes, which way do you want to go, hmm?"

"Yes, up or down?"

Hallow looks up and down, not sure of which way to go.

"Come on, come on. We don't have all day."

"Yes! Which way?"

"Up?"

"Down?"

"Oh what I wouldn't give to flip a coin," he says sarcastically, with not much thought he goes with the first choice that pops into his head, "UP!,"

Blaze looks around with a disquieting look on his face. "Well, no one I know has ever refused a challenge from me. I'm a legend around here. I am like the tip of the toppity top!" He recalls Emperor back into his Pokeball, the Rhyhorn grunting in frustration as he returns to his Pokeball. "I understand though about wanting to make sure your Pokemon are strong enough. My Pokemon were all caught and hand-raised by me to develop their specific strengths. I myself am a Rock and Mineral kind of trainer." He looks into your face, and a sudden blink of recognition
hits his face. "You know, I think I have seen you around in the PASBL. I might have watched one of your matches at some point. Not bad if I may so myself, but decidely amateur in my humble opinion. I was in there for a while too, still am. Going for the title of Mineral Gym Leader, though other people are more likely to get the title than I am. Anyways, about your little proposal. I would be glad to come along with you. I know what place August is going to, and it can be dangerous if you are unprepared. The mountain has not been activ elately, but one can still feel tremors from time to time. And...yes....I probably will be able to find something that will help me in my guest to become the Mineral Gym Leader." Blaze gives you a sunny smile, before August comes back from wherever he was during this time.

"Well, I figured that you two would have had a full-blown Pokemon battle by now. It seems that Blaze here must have calmed down some I see." "Yeah, August. He declined my offer, and extended the offer to go to that secret hot spring." "Why would you go? You've been in there before." "There might be something there that was not there before. You never know truly." "Well, you sure have the adventuring spirit, I can tell you that much. I used to be like that in my prime, but I have gotten to old for that." "Gol-Golurrrkkkkkkkkk....." "I know you miss it to, but I just can't do it anymore. Sadly enough." "Well don't wory sir. Frinth and I will be able to adventure enough for both you and your Golurk." "Ahh...now you don't have to do that for me. I don't need the life like that anymore. Just be careful while you guys are going around. Get ready as soon as you can. We are going to be leaving very shortly."

Blaze looks at you again, and says, "Well, I don't know about you, but I know who I am going to send out on this journey with me." Blaze grabs a Pokeball from his bag, and throws it into the air, releasing a Cofagrigus hovering in mid-air. "This is Coffin. He was actually my mother's Cofagrigus that she gave me as a Yamask when I lost my gym battle against Chuck in the Johto Region. He is the coolest cat ever. Trust me on that." Coffin chuckles to himself, causing his goldn skin to move up and down. "Come on man, let's get going!"

What will you do?

The IslandIgnatius RiverLASL

You grab the Pokeball in your hands, the cool metal surface slipping between your fingers with oil lubricated preciseness. Scyther is knocked out cold, and you throw the Pokeball at it. It flies in an arc, heading straight for the Scyther, before the ball hits the ground. It bounces off the ground, and completely misses the Scyther. Even though its is pretty embarassing, you can't help but giggle along with everybody else...it was pretty funny actually. You run over to the Pokeball and pick it up again, and throw it at the Scyther again. This time, though, the Pokeball hits on the behind, not activating and just falls off away from the Scyther. This time, it was not funny at all, and when you pick it up again, you hope that this time will be your last. You throw the Pokeball, and this time, it land sright on contact, opening up and sending Scyther inside. The ball hits the ground, and you look anxiously as you wait to see what it is going to do. First, one shake. Then, two shakes. Then, three shakes! Then...a bright flash of stars lights from the Pokeball, signifying that you have now caught the rather fiesty Scyther!

You have now caught a Level 1, Male Scyther! Congratulations! Its knows the move Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, and Leer.

Sparow looks happy to have a new friend, but it also looks worn out. The last battle took its toll on her. You wave goodbye to the Gardevoir and the Ralts, before coming out of the woods and back out by the river. Nothing seems to look too much different, but the sun is starting to set in the sky and that lady is still waiting for you to find her Gulpin. Looking around, you see two things that catch your eyes. The first is a trial of candy wrappers that make a perfectly straight line. The lady did say that her Gulpin did like to eat, and that seems like a likely place. The other was a depression in the grass, shapped like the body of a Gulpin, moving in the opposite direction.

Which way will you go?

Mt. InfernusWaterfallTakeo

"This is interesting....no?' one of the face hands say to another. "Yeah...it is. The last time someone wandered in here, they went down. How odd?" "How long has it been since someone came in here?" "If I remember correctly, it has been 26 years since a single soul has been here. Kinda makes you feel old dosen't it?" "Nah, just makes it feel like the time is flying. I think we ought to grant the young boy's request, don't you think?" "Yep. The Helping Hands elevator service is now serving....UP!" The hands grab you and pull you up slowly through the hole in the ground. You can see the entrance getting bigger and bigger, and the light glows brighter and brighter. The hands push you over the edge of the hole, where you are able to climb out of the hol by yourself. You looks around and see nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to show any more of those trap doors. You begin to walk away, when the hands say, "Stop for a minute." You turn around, and see a huge face looking at you. "Listen, we may be the helping hands, but there are certain things we are not allowed to help you on. The trials you are about to face may be stronger than you and your friends. Just a warning though, the girl who went down got everything she needed. Got everything she came for....and more."

You nod at the hands but continue on your own way, sure of yourself that the way that you are taking is going to lead to your destination. You walk forwards and forwards, until you reach a walll. This wall is an odd shape wall, being oval-shaped instead of being square. In the center of the wall is a symbol of a dragon, elegantly carved in gold and inlaid into steel. Surrounding the carving of steel, there is four circles, each one with a small colored gem at the top. In the north-west, is a red jewel. In the north-east, there is a blue gem. In the south-east, there is a yellow gem. And, finally, in the south-west, there is a green gem. These gems are obviously some sort of identification, and they must be some sort of seal on the wall. If you were to find some sort of meaning or code in the four circles on the wall, then it should open. What could it mean however.....what could it mean..........

Throw looked pretty beaten down because of the powerful attacks he had to endure earlier. But, he still has quite a bit of energy left, and quickly moves behind Kingler, using his large body as a sort of protective shield. Kingdra wants to keep the pressure on Throw, and creates another orb of dragon energy in its mouth, ready to fire it off like a cannon at the Fighting type. Kingler looks at the orb and sees that it would deal quite a bit of damage to Throw. Wanting to protect its partner in battle, Kingler throws up a protective bubble of energy that surrounds both him and Throw, precisely when Kingdra releases the orb of energy. Kingler closes his eyes as he braces for impact, but the energy shield is more than adequate for taking the attack, not budging at all. Throw gives a friendly look at Kingler for protecting him from the powerful attack. But, Kingler himself is not out of the clear yet. Houndoom puts his tail into the sunlight, and opens his mouth with a howl. Suddenly, his body begins to glow a bright yellow color as he begins to harness energy from the sunlight to power a very strong attack that is sure to rock Kingler's world. Suddenly, the light drains from Houndoom's body and creates a massive beam of light that overtakes both Throw and Kingler in one blast. Kingler and Throw both groan under the strength of the powerful attack, especially Kingler. Houndoom looks a little worn out after that, and Throw begins his preparations for a powerful counter-attack. His body becomes covered in a strong red aura that is built into taking attacks.

Kingler strikes out against Houndoom with some serious offensive moves. It lifts its claw into the air, before releasing a powerful blast of water. Houndoom grimaces from the water, but dear, that is only part of the attack. Kingler suddenly goes into reverse mode, sucking up the water into a powerful vacuum. Normally, Houndoom would have the strength to grip his claws and hold on tight, but his just does not have the strength and is sucked up by the powerful suction, raking across the ground and taking extra damage from the attack. Kingdra sees that the Kingler used a powerful attack, and charges up a small ball of dragon energy inside of its mouth. It shoots it up to the ceiling, where it splits apart. This is the powerful Draco Meteor attack, and it bombards both Throw and Kingler, where it deals a ton of damage to each. After that attack, however, Kingdra looks to be pretty exhausted. Houndoom gets back up from the attack, and jumps at Kingler with mouth outstretched. It goes to clamp down on Kingler's big claw, but, Kingler is able to release another powerful blast of water at Houndoom. It flies in the air along with the water, barking and yipping as it does not want to be on the ground. Kingler brings back the suction, and Houndoom is pulled into the claw with the water. Kingler shakes him out, and Houndoom just could not take anymore, and is all swirly eyed now. At the moment, both Kingler and Kingdra look exhausted from using so many powerful attacks. Throw is in a Bide and it will take two turns to completion.

What will you do?

”Two down, one to go,” Hugo thought. He took out Houndoom, but with the type advantage, it was basically an inevitability sooner or later. Kingdra, however, would not nearly be quite as simple.

He looked to Throh, who was slowly building more and more energy with a Bide. He couldn’t be disturbed. Kingler was exhausted. The Pincer Pokemon took significant damage from the shot at Draco Meteor. And even though, Kingdra lost a ton of energy, Kingler was fading fast.

“Kingler,” Hugo called out. The massive crab heaved heavy breaths as he looked to his trainer. He was still willing to give it a go with Kingdra, but he really didn’t know how much more he had in him.

“What’s the key to a good offense?” Hugo thought to himself. “A good defense!” With Kingdra recovering, Hugo knew he had a bit more time.

“Alright, Kingler, we’ve almost got this!” he shouted. “Build up those defenses. Use Harden!”

And as for an attack, Kingdra, being part Water-type, would not be as susceptible to Kingler’s attacks. He needed a boost.

“And Kingler, follow it up with Amnesia! And then freeze Kingdra with Icy Wind!”

You and your friend Sheldon walk down the path towards Shale Beach...well, Sheldon rather drags herself along the ground, not having the limb capacity to really move along the ground as of yet. And he probably won't have the ability to for a little while. But, for now, Sheldon is just happy to be outside and moving towards water. You follow the path until you catch sight of the Shale Beach, and what you see was not unexpected. The beach had calm, shallow waves, and the sand was a dark black color, probably because of the rich deposits of obsidian nearby. Sheldon looks overjoyed at the fact that she is going to be so close to water, and picks up the pace, dragging himself across the black sand. You look happily on her as she splashes on the waves, knowing that you have chosen the right place to take an adventure to.

Just then, you hear something in the distance, sounding like a "THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP" You look around to see if you can see anything, and you do. A helicopter flies down from the east into the forest, kicking up some of the sand on the beach. You grimace from the stinging of flying sand as you see that it is dropping nearby, and would probably be a good idea to check it out. You call Sheldon out of the water, and walk into the forest. You only have to walk a little ways before you see what all the hubbub was all about. It looked like some sort of secret military base that was hastily constructed, with odd white pipes and big, important looking buildings. You see people in lab coats, though, they are not white but more of a beige color, with symbols that have a tower and the letter LS on them. They move to and from buildings with no sign of slowing down, like something important had happened in the past two seconds. You look for the helicopter, and see the landing pad to your right. The door is opened, and someone is being lowered onto the ground. He is in a tightly pressed business suit, with a clean haircut and a pair of shades on his head. On one ear is an earpiece that he regularly talks to, probably giving orders and such. The whole thing looks weird on an island, and in the forest as well.

You are approached by the man, who had obviously seen you when he got out of the helicopter. He takes off his shades revealing his eyes, brown and suspicisious. He looks you over, and Sheldon, before releasing a sigh. "Well well kid, what exactly are you doing here? This is a top secret operation that we are running here, and we can't have people coming to and from our site. You are not with those people from the musuem, are you?" The man talked so fast you are barely sure you heard him right, but shake your head no, you didn't know about any museum. Or a site for that matter. "Well good kid, we cannot have those history lovers coming in and messing with our operation. We are the Lufenian society, a secret society that wants to find Lufenian technology and use it for the good of humanity. That is al we want. There technology is beyond comprehension, partly because none of it was ever found. If the relics and the artifacts are anything to believe, the technology is far ahead of ours. Now, get in the large building on the left, they will have you fitten and clothed." You look at him with a look of shock. You never agreed to be part of this. "This IS a secret organization. You don't think that I would tell you all of that just to have you leave, would I?" Two men in uniform push you ahead, and you begrudgingly move ahead.

What will you do?

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Karmas turned his head, what on Earth was making that sound? He saw a helicopter flying down into the forest, the trainer wincing as sand from the beach was blow up into his face.

"Hey Sheldon!" called out Karmas as he walked towards the forest, "Let's go and check this out."

It didn't take long for the pair to found out what was going on. They found themselves at what looked like a military base, complete with scientists running around in lab coats. Noticing that there was a landing pad to the right of him, Karmas turned and saw the helicopter that had blown the sand onto them earlier. The helicopter door opened and a sleek looking man stepped out, looking impressively sharp.

"There is no way this is actually happening," muttered Karmas, "This just seems too implausible."

The man walked over to Karmas, much to the trainer's surprise, and gave the trainer and his turtle a once over before sighing. "Well well kid, what exactly are you doing here? This is a top secret operation that we are running here, and we can't have people coming to and from our site. You are not with those people from the musuem, are you?"

Karmas had absolutely no idea what the man was talking about, but he shook his head nevertheless.

"Well good kid, we cannot have those history lovers coming in and messing with our operation. We are the Lufenian society, a secret society that wants to find Lufenian technology and use it for the good of humanity. That is all we want. There technology is beyond comprehension, partly because none of it was ever found. If the relics and the artifacts are anything to believe, the technology is far ahead of ours. Now, get in the large building on the left, they will have you fitten and clothed."

Wait, what? What was this about? Karmas had nothing to do with any of this, but apparently despite what he wanted he had no choice in the matter.

"So what am I getting fitted for?" asked Karmas as he was pushed towards the building. "And what am I meant to be doing? And who and/or what the hell are Lufenians?"

Karmas was incredibly confused by the whole situation, and obviously he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out. It was going to interesting, that was for sure.

Time to start off on those daily updates that I am not known for. Mt. InfernusWaterfallTakeo

"This is interesting....no?' one of the face hands say to another. "Yeah...it is. The last time someone wandered in here, they went down. How odd?" "How long has it been since someone came in here?" "If I remember correctly, it has been 26 years since a single soul has been here. Kinda makes you feel old dosen't it?" "Nah, just makes it feel like the time is flying. I think we ought to grant the young boy's request, don't you think?" "Yep. The Helping Hands elevator service is now serving....UP!" The hands grab you and pull you up slowly through the hole in the ground. You can see the entrance getting bigger and bigger, and the light glows brighter and brighter. The hands push you over the edge of the hole, where you are able to climb out of the hol by yourself. You looks around and see nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to show any more of those trap doors. You begin to walk away, when the hands say, "Stop for a minute." You turn around, and see a huge face looking at you. "Listen, we may be the helping hands, but there are certain things we are not allowed to help you on. The trials you are about to face may be stronger than you and your friends. Just a warning though, the girl who went down got everything she needed. Got everything she came for....and more."

You nod at the hands but continue on your own way, sure of yourself that the way that you are taking is going to lead to your destination. You walk forwards and forwards, until you reach a walll. This wall is an odd shape wall, being oval-shaped instead of being square. In the center of the wall is a symbol of a dragon, elegantly carved in gold and inlaid into steel. Surrounding the carving of steel, there is four circles, each one with a small colored gem at the top. In the north-west, is a red jewel. In the north-east, there is a blue gem. In the south-east, there is a yellow gem. And, finally, in the south-west, there is a green gem. These gems are obviously some sort of identification, and they must be some sort of seal on the wall. If you were to find some sort of meaning or code in the four circles on the wall, then it should open. What could it mean however.....what could it mean..........

Hallow looks back and forth to the heads talking, still positioned as a rag doll being played with, his arms and legs locked in someone else's grip.

"This is interesting....no?" one of the face hands says to the other.

"Yeah...it is. The last time someone wandered in here, they went down. How odd?"

"How long has it been since someone came in here?"

"If I remember correctly, it has been 26 years since a single soul has been here. Kinda makes you feel old dosen't it?"

"Nah, just makes it feel like the time is flying. I think we ought to grant the young boy's request, don't you think?"

"Yep. The Helping Hands elevator service is now serving....UP!"

Hallow didn't know if he should be truly greatful or not as the hands grabbed him and pulled him up slowly through the hole in the ground. Hallow looked up to see a light at the end of the tunnel, the light's glow becoming brighter and brighter as the entrance got bigger and bigger. The hands push him over the edge of the hole, where he was now able to climb out by himself. Hallow was a bit surprised with everything he had seen till now, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Hallow began to walk away, when the hands said, "Stop for a minute." Hallow turned around, and saw a huge face looking at him.

"Listen, we may be the helping hands, but there are certain things we are not allowed to help you on. The trials you are about to face may be stronger than you and your friends. Just a warning though, the girl who went down got everything she needed. Got everything she came for....and more."

Hallow thought for a moment, I'm here because of a dream..., to save the island...

Hallow looked back and nods at the hands, leaving them so he could continue on his own path, confident that the choices he was making were the right ones, he smiled as to say, 'Luck is always on my side'. Hallow walked forward and forward, until he reached a wall. The wall was an odd shaped wall, being oval-shaped instead of being squarish. In the center of the wall was a symbol of a dragon, Hallow touched it and noticed how elegantly carved in gold and inlaid into steel it was. Surrounding the carving of steel, there were four circles, each one with a small colored gem at the top.

In the north-west, was a red jewel.
In the north-east, there was a blue gem.
In the south-east, there was a yellow gem.
And, finally, in the south-west, there was a green gem.

"Where these the gems?, the ones mentioned in my dream?," he inquired,

Recalling his dream,"The world is cold, my little Hallow.
What is more, the world is doomed.
You are the only one who can find the solution,
A gem of worlds that is divine.
One of power to rule the skies."

"And that girl.., the one from 26 years ago.., was she the one that warned me?,"

The corridor he was in was awfully quiet, and he actually hoped that something was going to pop out at any second. He looked intently back at these gems, "These gems are obviously some sort of identification, and they must be some sort of seal on the wall. If I were to find some sort of meaning or code in the four circles on the wall, then it should open. What could it mean however...what could it mean...,"

"But being in this place...there is no true meaning in what I do here now is there,"
Grabbing a Pokeball from his belt, "So I guess no one minds if I just blast a hole in this wall,"

Always grey, Mt. Ceniza is constantly coated in a thin layer of ash. An active volcano, she doesn't appear to be on the verge of eruption - not any time soon, anyway - but her constant rumbling can be felt by those who travel near. This mountain has become a tourist attraction, particularly for those interested in collecting ash, though the tremors felt do tend to keep the more nervous travellers away.

Areas:

Granite Tunnel: A maze-like tunnel leading up through the inner mountain. Steps have been carved into the rocks so that people can make their way to several different locations of the mountainside in order to bypass the falling ash. A preferable choice for those who prefer to stay clean, but it can get quite warm in here so be sure to bring along a good supply of water. Falling rubble can pose a problem, however, during Mt. Ceniza's stronger tremors so you'll need your wits about you at all times.

"I wonder if we can find any interesting in here...", Katsura wondered to himself aloud as he sat before the entrance to the Granite Tunnel with Kiba, taking a rest after the hike up the mountainside to its location. He hadn't come there for any specific reason, instead simply seeking a fresh experience.

Exploring a cave would be something new for him, having rarely strayed far from home prior to setting out on his journey, instead spending most of his time at the local beaches and town. He was well aware of the dangers involved in doing so, but with his Pokemon at his side, he felt fairly confident he would be safe. Kiba in particular was easily the most alert out of them all, his ears and nose twitching at every foreign sound or smell that entered them whilst he waited for his trainer, looking more then ready to proceed.

After a few minutes had passed, Katsura stood up and removed a small flashlight from his bag; an essential tool for any would-be spelunker. "Well, I think I've had enough of this stuffy air now.", he remarked, the volcanic ash in the environment making it a bit unpleasant to breathe. "Let's be on our way, but stay sharp. If you sense any danger, be sure to let me know right away, okay, Kiba?"

The Electrike gave a nod of his head and a bark, and with that, the two of them set off into the cave.

You, Amethyst, and Sarkahn all run up the Scenic Walk, with Solaris hitchhiking a ride on your arms. You would think that such a person would be hard to find, but, truthfully, the frequent shakes and tremors from his "art" were more than enough to be able to locate him. It was basically like sonar or radar, the closer you got to him, the stronger and stronger the signal was. You have to take a break at one point, but, finally, reach the vandal in question.

For a scandal artist, he wasn't that impressive. He kinda looked like some sort of quintessentially eighties guy you would see from a movie like Christine or Grease. He had the slicked back hair, and a pair of shades that almost looked like a pair of triangles. They shined black, and were obviously quite reflective. He has a leather jacket on with a bunch of studs and buttons on it, and he had a more casual T-shirt on underneath, white of course so it has some sort of contrast with the leather jacket. He had a pair of fades jeans on, and a pair of black sneakers. Looking at his face though, you could see that something about this man was off. He was very pale, like he had been inside for days, no weeks. And, he was very skinny. Near gaunt like in fact. It was odd. It was like looking at a living skeleton almost. "Alright you two! We are going to make this one a masterpiece, just like all the rest of them! Dugtrio! Use your Earth Power to rip a big gash into that rock! Krokorok! Give it a Dark Pulse to add some nice flair to the piece! Make it as dark as night!" His Pokemon followed orders. Dugtrio spun around in the ground and released a shock wave of earth energy with his might EARTH POWER. Blasts of energy ripped through the rock, sending chunks of it flying. When all was done, a large crack had formed in the side of the mountain. Then, the Krokorok opened his mouth, and a large ball of dark energy formed inside of it. Then, another shock wave of energy blasts out, but this time, it is dark energy. It hits the gash on the side of the mountain and transforms it into the side of a skull. Even the outline of the jawbone was to a tee. These were obviously experts at what they were doing, but, it needed to stop. "Alright boys. This one is looking to be pretty good if I may say so myself. If we can cover the entire mountain in skulls, I am sure going to be one happy man! Ha ha ha ha!"

What will you do?

As Hyrem carried Solaris, with Sarkhan and Amethyst following very close behind, he wondered how difficult it would be to find the source of these tremors. Well, they were frequent, so it certainly made things easy for the group to home in on the vandal. However, Hyrem needed a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "Whew, need a little break guys!" he said, somewhat winded. The Druddigon and Seviper were urgently motioning towards the direction of the tremors, very eager for another fight and not wanting to let the vandal escape. However, the break he needed was brief enough, and they were able to continue on until they finally got close enough to see the first "artist" in the flesh.

This guy's fashion screamed 80s; I mean, he had the slick, greasy hair, triangular shades, leather jacket, everything! Also reminds me of the quintessential thug look you'd normally see in shonen manga, he had it down to a tee! Shirt, that is, heh heh. Anyway, the dude also looked pretty pale... like how someone looks when they spend days on end playing League of Legendaries? Yeah, that kind of look. Pretty thin, too. Nothing but skin and bones, Amethyst would always sa- no, stop, stop, STOP! Sorry, I almost got ahead of myself there... Oh yeah, his Pokemon? Well, Hyrem lets Dexelle answer that for us:

Dugtrio, the Mole Pokemon. Dugtrio result from one body splitting into three, so one head is able to think exactly like the other two. They can burrow through the ground without stopping for months, and they use the tunnels they form to attack their opponents from any angle they want to. They have been known to dig up to 60 miles underground and have caused earthquakes as a result of digging down to such a distance. Sometimes, if a certain soil is hard, they will bob heads separately to loosen it up before digging through it.

Krokorok, the Desert Croc Pokemon. Krokorok tend to live in small groups to defend each other and hunt as a team. Their eyes have protective membranes which allow them to see through sandstorms and are also granted night vision from these membranes.

Hyrem was expecting Pokemon that featured skulls on their bodies, like Duskull. He did not expect these bruisers. "Ground-type Pokemon... Great," Hyrem whispered, cursing his luck as he and the Pokemon with him continued to watch this vandal.

"Alright you two! We are going to make this one a masterpiece, just like all the rest of them! Dugtrio! Use your Earth Power to rip a big gash into that rock! Krokorok! Give it a Dark Pulse to add some nice flair to the piece! Make it as dark as night!" he ordered his Pokemon. Dugtrio started the "art" by using its Power to crack the mountainous Earth in two, then the Dark-type crocodile spit out an evil-looking Pulse to add to the crack and create a perfect black skull, totally horrid to most people, though Hyrem knew a couple of people who might appreciate this style. But all these "masterpieces" were being formed at the expense of the mountain being ruined for everyone else, so he had to be stopped. Amethyst would suffer from a type mismatch, however, so they had to be careful. There was something good about this situation, though: with all the tremors Hyrem and the others felt, that meant that the Pokemon had likely used Earth Power and Dark Pulse just as many times, so they probably wouldn't have a whole lot of energy to take on Hyrem's Pokemon in a battle.

"Okay, here's the plan," Hyrem whispered to his reptiles. "It looks like we'll be able to take 'em by surprise, so let's make the most of it. I think you might like this idea, Amethyst; use Bite on the Dugtrio to keep them from escaping underground, then use Giga Drain and drink in as much energy as you want to."

"Seee..." Amethyst hissed with a good-sized grin before licking her lips, ready to taste the three moles in earnest.

"Sarkhan, you'll go after Krokorok. Get as close as you can before throwing a point-blank Focus Blast at it, then give it a good Slash attack."

"Drudd," Sarkhan nodded, sizing up the Ground/Dark Pokemon.

"All right, so Solaris and I will show ourselves and give them one chance to stop; meanwhile, you two get into position. If they want a fight or they try to escape, I'll give the signal for you guys to spring the trap. But please wait for the signal, now go!"

The two nod before starting to sneak up on their intended targets... very reminiscent of what they were doing with their trainer earlier, don't you think?

Once Hyrem was sure his Pokemon were ready he confidently walked up to the vandal and said: "Hey, nice skull you did there! Too bad it's on this Larvesta's home, or I'd appreciate it more! Now if you want to keep messing this place up, you'll have to beat me in a battle first! Otherwise, I suggest you call it a day and do your 'art' somewhere else from now on!" Having said his piece, the trainer waits for the vandal's response, knowing he could let his reptiles loose on the Ground-types at a moment's notice.

You grab the Pokeball in your hands, the cool metal surface slipping between your fingers with oil lubricated preciseness. Scyther is knocked out cold, and you throw the Pokeball at it. It flies in an arc, heading straight for the Scyther, before the ball hits the ground. It bounces off the ground, and completely misses the Scyther. Even though its is pretty embarassing, you can't help but giggle along with everybody else...it was pretty funny actually. You run over to the Pokeball and pick it up again, and throw it at the Scyther again. This time, though, the Pokeball hits on the behind, not activating and just falls off away from the Scyther. This time, it was not funny at all, and when you pick it up again, you hope that this time will be your last. You throw the Pokeball, and this time, it land sright on contact, opening up and sending Scyther inside. The ball hits the ground, and you look anxiously as you wait to see what it is going to do. First, one shake. Then, two shakes. Then, three shakes! Then...a bright flash of stars lights from the Pokeball, signifying that you have now caught the rather fiesty Scyther!

You have now caught a Level 1, Male Scyther! Congratulations! Its knows the move Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, and Leer.

Sparow looks happy to have a new friend, but it also looks worn out. The last battle took its toll on her. You wave goodbye to the Gardevoir and the Ralts, before coming out of the woods and back out by the river. Nothing seems to look too much different, but the sun is starting to set in the sky and that lady is still waiting for you to find her Gulpin. Looking around, you see two things that catch your eyes. The first is a trial of candy wrappers that make a perfectly straight line. The lady did say that her Gulpin did like to eat, and that seems like a likely place. The other was a depression in the grass, shapped like the body of a Gulpin, moving in the opposite direction.

Which way will you go?

El's heart lit up as the ball clicked, confirming her first capture as a pokemon trainer. It was exciting! Lub dub, lub dub, her heat was racing in her chest. With tender care, she picked up the ball and clipped it onto her belt next to Sparow's. She didn't want to accidentally call out...

Actually, what would his name be? She racked her mind, trying to come up with something. It would be rude to rip the thing out of its home and then treat it like it didn't mean anything to her. Think El, think! What was something that stood out about the bug? It was hard to tell, she'd been focusing on, y'know, not dying. Hungry (she had a few berrys lying around, she could probably share one with him), fast, clever, an awfully feisty spirit...

That's it! Kinda cliche, but whatever works. El removed her new teammate's pokeball from her belt, mind made up. "Alright then, I'll call you Spirit! I... please don't hurt me, I'll make you big and strong, promise! Well, maybe not big, you already fit that." She nodded, reattaching the ball to her belt. The newly-dubbed Spirit was due for a good long rest after the fight he put up. She turned to Sparow, not wanting to neglect her starter. "You did good girl! Whoever said size matters?" Sparow cawed happily, pleased to get her acknowledgement. Turt and Gardevoir were next, El giving them a hurried curtsy. "If you have anymore trouble from him, something has gone horribly horribly wrong."

El sighed, everything had turned out well in the end! Nobody died, her nose had stopped hurting and she had a powerful new hopefully non-murderous team mate. But of course, there was still something left to do. As much as she hated to just leave her new friends after all that, the sun was begining to set, an ever-present time limit. "Anyway, I have to go now. The sun's setting and I promised to help someone find their Gulpin. Stay safe, both of you!" El looked around for any potential clues, in one direction were empty lolly wrappers. Food for a hungry gulpin? That made sense. But in the opposite direction was an actual imprint of what looked an awful lot like a gulpin. Both equally valid really. If it weren't for Sparow's... issues, she'd just send the bird to have a look down one of them. But between that and the dimming light, it wasn't exactly a valid plan.

El forced herself to make a decision. The imprint seemed like more definite proof than some discarded candy wrappers. For all she knew they could have just been blown there by the wind, not every trainer was considerate enough to pick up after them. Mind decided, El left with Sparow in hand, saying her final farewells to the psychic types.

You Anorith, Pontos, grips your midsection with its large claws as you cradle it, causing you to grit your teeth a little bit. But, of course, adventuring with your little Anorith for the first time was good enough to endure this kind of pain. The little Anorith might be at a low level, but, you are sure that your Rhyperior will be able to protect you. You walk ever forward, the leaves from the dense jungles brushing past you and leaving small nicks and scratches on your arms. But, suddenly, you reach a clearing. This is not a normal clearing either. The "ground" is actually some sort of blue stone. Marble? Slate? Granite? Whatever it is, the stone is shiny and blue, with the look of stone that was just laid yesterday. That must be impossible, however. The amount of handicraft needed and workers needed would have taken months to complete. And even by that time, the endless rains and scorching heat of the island of Mt. Infernus would have weathered down the rocks very quickly. Even in a few months, there would have been cracks and broken stones. But, it was pristine. Hell, even shiny. You walk across the marble, your footsteps making small tapping noises as they hit the blue stone. You continue walking on the stone, when you see something in the stone. It looks like...a hole? No, not a hole. It is a little bit too neat to be just a random hole in the ground. Plus, it is paved with a lining of stones. No, it is an entrance. With a ladder inside of it.

Thinking that this has to lead somewhere and that it might even be the Rock Pool itself, you descend the ladder, again, marveled by the fact that the wood does not creak or bend under your feet. Another weird thing about this place. You reach the bottom of the ladder, and turn around. In front of you it a large door. No, large door is not the best word for it. How about huge? Or gigantic? or humungous! The door was positively massive. It was probably thirty to forty feet high, and looked to be easily a couple of feet think. And, it was made out of solid steel. Or some sort of metal. You doubted that even a raging Rhyperior could have pushed his way through this door. A large brass knocker adorned the door, but other than that, it was pretty nondescript....as giant doors go anyways. You see in surprise that an Alakazam walks up to you, probably the doors gate keeper, and sits down in front of you. He says nothing to you, but just sits there, waiting. "Well, young boy, it is rude to keep a man waiting!" Shocked by the fact that he could talk(though, he was an Alakazam, so, it may not be TOO shocking), you just stand there stunned. "Well, someone is deader than a doorknob today. I might as well just give the speech after all." He gets up, and walks to a small alcove on the side of the wall, grabbing a small pouch. He walks back over to you, and sits down again. "This, boy, it what one might call a trial of sorts. See, none get to the Rock Pool easily, and this is because there are some truly fearsome Pokemon in there. Pokemon, if they were to get out, would wreck havoc on the mainland. This trial was built so that only the best of the best would go on to the Rock Pool, in hopes that they could tame the power within. However, none of them have ever come back." He grabs something from his pouch, revealing a small pipe which he lights with a FIRE PUNCH, and smokes a few puffs. "I know, I know, its a bad habit. But, one I got from my trainer, before he met his time I'm afraid. Old age though, nothing to serious. Anyways, if you, good sir, want to get in the Rock Pool, you are going to have to face the trials ahead of you. They will challenge the four thing essential to a trainer: Logic, Wisdom, Sharp Senses, and of course, Battling Skills. I won't tell you in which order either. Oh, and to make sure that a trainer is truly tested, you may only bring one Pokemon inside the trial. The rest will be returned when you get to the Rock Pool. I hope you understood that, because I am only saying it once."

What will you do?

Matthew winced as the carapace Pokémon's wings bore into his abdomen, his teeth gritted together as he futilely attempted to overcome the pain. It was uncomfortable, for sure, but not unbearable and Matthew allowed the Anorith to do so, the small fossil not knowing any better as the young trainer carried on, enjoying the ability to cradle his bug-type however uncomfortable that may be. The sun beat down on his neck as several beads of sweat began to form on his brow, his ever-wiping hand attempting to stop them before they began to roll down his now very red face. The heat was unbearable for a trainer used to the cold frigid mountains in the Glacier Region, his body having gotten used to the cold through years of training his rock-types in the snow, ever curious to overcome the type disadvantages laden before them.

Moving forward in the dense undergrowth of the jungle, Matthew brushed aside many a plant, the odd branch here and there recognisable in a sea of tropic viridiplantae. The greenery made for a beautiful sight, the versatility of mother nature's wide gaze spread far and wide in such a climate; causing a smile to creep across Matthew's face, appreciating the presence of such a powerful force of botanical placement.

“Ouch” he yelped “Damn plant”

Looking down Matthew was greeted by the sign of his own blood, the small nick caused by a thorn-ed bush letting a drip of red trickle down his arm. The plant's self-defense mechanism against larger animals looking to feast on its delicious products, the environment this time being one which Matthew did not appreciate. With the love for plants had quickly worn off for the young trainer, Matthew looked down at his Pokémon for one which could Cut his way through the forest, but quickly stopped himself. Regaining his head, and composure, Matthew arguing against the cause in his head instead prefering to ignore the scratches and continue wayward. Pushing the final branch out of the way with a more cautious attitude Matthew found himself in a clearing, but not one he thought of as normal.

Looking around Matthew noted the distinguished ground to be not of anything he'd seen before, the young trainer kneeling down on one knee as he rubbed two fingers across the stone, flicking upwards towards his face as he rubbed the excess with his thumb.

“Marble? No. Granite? No. Slate? No” he thought to himself, eliminating possible sources off the list as he associated their characteristics to this, unable to find a perfect match.

Standing back up Matthew shook off the odd feeling culminating in his gut; the blue stone looking like it had recently been laid by professionals, but the practicality of such a move was beyond his recognition, the materials alone to create such a floor was unexpected let alone the time taken to fix such a large area.

“And yet” he pondered.

And yet it resonated within that this could be the case, the evidence stacked against the idea was near perfect, but here it was, the blue stone laying smoothly on the floor, despite the endless rain and insatiable heat to crack the stone it was still here, looking like it had been made yesterday, the precision of such a pristine and shiny art most surreal in its nature. Matthew dabbed his foot ahead of him, ensuring the sturdiness of the stone and his safety as he began to walk across, his Addidas Originals making small tapping noises at each contact until he reached the middle, a hole jutting out.

“A hole?” he asked in disbelief, looking down at the Anorith doing all the pinching he needed as he stepped closer to the darkness.

Cranking his neck he observed the neatness, the paved stone lining suggesting otherwise to his query. Moving closer he soon spotted a ladder, its wooden rungs inviting the trainer downwards. Though he was fearful of the idea of rotten rungs collapsing under his feet and sending him flying down an unspecified height, Matthew felt compelled to climb down, having no other leads on the entrance to the Rock Pool.

A few minutes of nervous one-handed climbing, Anorith still clung round his abdomen, Matthew finally made it to the bottom, turning round to see a giant steel door blocking his path, its metal exterior several feet thick. Looking down at his belt, Matthew doubted Rhyperior's ability to knock through such an impressive structure, though he didn't voice his opinion to the prideful rock-type. Matthew looked for a possible way in, noticing only a brass knocker hanging from the middle, tempting him to knock and see what answer may come.

He was interrupted, however, by the presence of an Alakazam; the 4'11” psychic type just sitting in front of him. Matthew squinted in anticipation, but none came. His mind wandered back to his own Alakazam, the psychic type having been released when it got to level 100, but Matthew had no recollection of when or where he released it, his mind having still been plagued with memory loss. Cursing his inability to remember, Matthew stared at the Alakazam, hoping to bring back memories through repetition, though none came.

"Well, young boy, it is rude to keep a man waiting!"

Matthew snapped out of his daydream in a second, looking around for the human who made such a sound. His eyes flickered back and forth in the dark-ish cavern, but found nothing but the Alakazam sitting in front of him.

"Well, someone is deader than a doorknob today. I might as well just give the speech after all."

Matthew stood stunned as this time he caught the Alakazam speaking. He had heard of psychic communication between powerful psychic types but his Alakazam showed no sign of this. He gulped as the Alakazam got up, walked away and grabbed a small pouch before returning to face him.

“I....I'm sorry?” he replied, still shocked at the Pokémon's ability to speak

"This, boy, it what one might call a trial of sorts. See, none get to the Rock Pool easily, and this is because there are some truly fearsome Pokemon in there. Pokemon, if they were to get out, would wreck havoc on the mainland. This trial was built so that only the best of the best would go on to the Rock Pool, in hopes that they could tame the power within. However, none of them have ever come back." The Alakazam ignored him.

Upon hearing of the fearsome Pokémon Matthew looked down at his belt, the Rhyperior stiring in excitement at the opportunity to battle once more; the rock-type having kept a record of defeated opponents chalked into its arm, a list which contained an undead Machamp and an ancient God reincarnated as a Kabutops. Matthew breathed heavily as he smelt a familiar smell, looking up to see the Alakazam lighting a small pipe before smoking a few puffs.

Matthew reveled in the smell of tobacco, his own jacket pocket containing several cigarettes for the journey, though he feared to use them in case it damaged his young Pokémon's health. Covering the Anorith from the deadly second hand smoke, glaring at the Alakazam for being so inconsiderate, especially in such a small area like the entrance.

"I know, I know, its a bad habit. But, one I got from my trainer, before he met his time I'm afraid. Old age though, nothing to serious. Anyways, if you, good sir, want to get in the Rock Pool, you are going to have to face the trials ahead of you. They will challenge the four thing essential to a trainer: Logic, Wisdom, Sharp Senses, and of course, Battling Skills. I won't tell you in which order either. Oh, and to make sure that a trainer is truly tested, you may only bring one Pokemon inside the trial. The rest will be returned when you get to the Rock Pool. I hope you understood that, because I am only saying it once."

He nodded in forgiveness, slightly worrying that his Pokémon could become the same as the Alakazam through his use of smoking. Pondering for a few seconds, Matthew continued to listen, the Alakazam explaining the tribulations of such a trial, the only way into the Rock Pool. Matthew nodded as he looked down at his Pokébelt, each Pokémon an acceptable candidate for the trial.

Searching through, Matthew ignored the Rhyperior and Aerodactyl he had with him, heeding the warning of the Alakazam and saving their strength for if he got through to the tomb. Should Matthew need help dealing with the fearsome Pokémon who would wreak havoc on the mainland, his two strongest friends would surely need all the energy they could get and sending them through the trial would be foolish.

He considered many avenues, but it was not until Matthew looked down once more that he made up his mind. The Anorith that accompanied him clicked its protruding claws, once again showing its intent as a possibility. Though Matthew saw it was young, he couldn't help but think it was perfect for this task; the trainer recalling its bravery in front of the Halloween Haunted Mirror serving as the reason he released Anorith when he first arrived, the Pokémon showing it was ready for an adventure. Taking his time, Matthew finally decided that the idea was good, unclipping his Pokébelt and holding it unfurled in one hand.

“Anorith shall be accompanying me to the trial” he announced, rubbing the top of the Anorith's shell with his thumb. Swinging his backpack round to the same hand as his belt, Matthew rooted around it before pulling something out, handing his Anorith a portion of Leftovers. Content, Matthew turned back to the Alakazam.

Kirsten looks at you with a shocked look on her face, like she had never considered the possibility before and she was just slapped in the face by reality. She looks down and begins to slam her fists into the ground, causing her knuckles to bleed. "God damn it. You're right. We could easily kill ourselves with this." She gets up and grabs a piece of cloth on a counter in the hut. It was pretty stained with blood, and was pretty long; not something you would find on a hand or even an arm. Something more likely that you would find on somebody's back. "But, I know one thing. Horus loves me. He would never abandon me here in this evil place. He knows how miserable I would be here. The only reason he is not here right now is because of the village. It is kinda hard hiding a five foot long serpent, despite his ability to Dig. If I didn't go to look for him, I would be putting his memory to shame." She gets up hastily, and begins to search under counters and under her bed. All the while, her shirt does little to cover up her "unmentionables", which causes you to look away quickly. Damn your libido indeed. She continues to look around the hut. "Oh no....it's gone. Horus's Pokeball. My mom must have taken it from me. I would love to have my little Horus to carry with me. But, finding him is more important."

She sits back down and gives a deep breath in and out. "Well, night is not too far away. Another couple of hours or so. For now, I can see what I can do for your little Munna." She motions that she wants to hold her. Steven happily obliges, and sits in Kirsten's hands. She observed him for a moment, then pokes him with the end of her finger. Steven does not react at all to this. "Wow...this is a really powerful drug. I'm not exactly sure what it is to be frank. It looks like some sort of mind-altering drug. I might have something that will work, but we will need to go out into the forest to get it. It is an herb that...clears the mind. It gets rid of any mind-altering substances in the body. Unfortunately, it has side-effects......bad side effects. Your Munna should be fine though. It is when it is used on people that things turn bad..." She looks down and begins to cry again, and this time, she punches the ground with the cloth on. It still has some fresh blood on it, but no more comes out. "Let us just find Horus. That is all I want."

What will you do/say?

Kirsten was clearly upset by Joshua's sudden burst of logic. He admitted, it was slightly out of character - he wanted badly to run off and try to save Horus and the rest of his Pokémon, but while totally defenceless... Yeah, it was just impossible for now. It was frustrating, but they needed to wait. Fortunately, there was something productive they could do with their time. As Kirsten explained, there was an herb they could use to clear Steven's mind, getting him back into action.

Still, her vagueness about it was unsettling. Bad side effects? What could they be? Did he want to know? Probably not... But he decided to keep it in mind at the very least. Could they get into the forest freely now though, or would they have to wait? Kirsten was crying again. Horus was all she cared about. He had to remember that this was the bottom line here - find the Dunsparce and get her out of here. He put an arm around both her shoulders, trying to reassure her.

"Try not to worry - we'll get through this, somehow. Do you think we can get into the forest to get the herb now, or should we wait til night? Once we can cure Steven with it, things will be a lot easier, I can tell you that."

Yes I know it's short, but I'm exhausted and have no better ideas for now.

Originally Posted by scytherdude30
no no no you need an empoleon as your powerhouse da listen to me man I AM THE BOMB

Originally Posted by Zincspider

Yes, someone is getting 'killed'... HOORAY FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!....

Blaze looks around with a disquieting look on his face. "Well, no one I know has ever refused a challenge from me. I'm a legend around here. I am like the tip of the toppity top!" He recalls Emperor back into his Pokeball, the Rhyhorn grunting in frustration as he returns to his Pokeball. "I understand though about wanting to make sure your Pokemon are strong enough. My Pokemon were all caught and hand-raised by me to develop their specific strengths. I myself am a Rock and Mineral kind of trainer." He looks into your face, and a sudden blink of recognition
hits his face. "You know, I think I have seen you around in the PASBL. I might have watched one of your matches at some point. Not bad if I may so myself, but decidely amateur in my humble opinion. I was in there for a while too, still am. Going for the title of Mineral Gym Leader, though other people are more likely to get the title than I am. Anyways, about your little proposal. I would be glad to come along with you. I know what place August is going to, and it can be dangerous if you are unprepared. The mountain has not been activ elately, but one can still feel tremors from time to time. And...yes....I probably will be able to find something that will help me in my guest to become the Mineral Gym Leader." Blaze gives you a sunny smile, before August comes back from wherever he was during this time.

"Well, I figured that you two would have had a full-blown Pokemon battle by now. It seems that Blaze here must have calmed down some I see." "Yeah, August. He declined my offer, and extended the offer to go to that secret hot spring." "Why would you go? You've been in there before." "There might be something there that was not there before. You never know truly." "Well, you sure have the adventuring spirit, I can tell you that much. I used to be like that in my prime, but I have gotten to old for that." "Gol-Golurrrkkkkkkkkk....." "I know you miss it to, but I just can't do it anymore. Sadly enough." "Well don't wory sir. Frinth and I will be able to adventure enough for both you and your Golurk." "Ahh...now you don't have to do that for me. I don't need the life like that anymore. Just be careful while you guys are going around. Get ready as soon as you can. We are going to be leaving very shortly."

Blaze looks at you again, and says, "Well, I don't know about you, but I know who I am going to send out on this journey with me." Blaze grabs a Pokeball from his bag, and throws it into the air, releasing a Cofagrigus hovering in mid-air. "This is Coffin. He was actually my mother's Cofagrigus that she gave me as a Yamask when I lost my gym battle against Chuck in the Johto Region. He is the coolest cat ever. Trust me on that." Coffin chuckles to himself, causing his goldn skin to move up and down. "Come on man, let's get going!"

What will you do?

"Well, That would be because my mental database has been poorly updated with pokemon moves, physics and characteristics." Frinth stared off to one side, another reminder flowing along his thoughts.

The wind rushed along his upper limbs. Ones which have been repeatedly called arms.

"Alright then, let us start moving along to that hot spring." Trick hopped along beside him, and stared in a wondering manner at the floating funeral container. "And, how are the ones you've extinguished lately? Do they now exist in your holding area?"

Frinth wandered his fingers along an interactive light-based pad, and frost seemed to line its borders. A cool mist emanated from a wide tip.

==>

Loading update...

"So, Blaze, Do you read Homestuck? Or would you let me tell you about it?" Frinth inquired with excitement.

Your little Pokemon Dolce and Opal look at you with concern, and each of them goes their separate ways, Dolce flying into the sky while Venonat searches the forest. Split timelines occurring.

Dolce

Flapping your wings at Levin's request, you soar into the sky. Life is good, and you can feel the wind on your feathers. It is a beautiful day as well, in fact, the whole day seems good. Except for the fact that Min was kidnapped. Min is so cool! How could she be taken away by anybody? She is so powerful too. Well, you are going to save her. Totally. Nothing is going to stand in your way today. Not even giant dragons.

....

Well, maybe giant dragons. But, you could deal with them if you really had to. Looking around for Min, you see a large hole in the forest. You fly down to the hole and hover over it, but see nothing. No sign of Min. No sign of ANYTHING. 'It looks like something hit this place with a "bomb" I think it is?' True, the devastation is astonishing. Trees burnt to the ground is a flash fire. Nothing is living there anymore. 'This must have just happened. Oh boy.' You fly higher and higher into the sky, almost up in the clouds, to see if you could get a better look. When you look at the mountain again, you see something more shocking. There are more holes like it. Many more holes. 'Oh no, what could have done this?' You think, before your draconic heritage kicks in. 'OMG. That is a....Draco Meteor attack! And it is HUGE!' For the first time, you actually begin to consider if Min is okay. 'I've heard of the move from my mom. What in the world could have made such a huge attack? OH NO. It must be a giant dragon!' Suddenly, you hear a whooshing sound behind you. You spin around, to find that nothing is there. 'OH NO. Is something following me?' As if an answer, you hear a piercing call of a bird. Spinning around again, you see that a metal bird flying towards you. You try to fly away, but the bird grabs you with its talons87. You struggle in the powerful grip, before finding some purchase in the bird's metal hide and squeezing out. You flap away as fast as you can, but the Skarmory is faster, and PECKS you repeatedly. It causes quite a bit of pain, and try to fight back somehow, but it is all to naught. your PECKS band against the metal hide, and you hurt your beak a little bit.

What will you do?

Levin, Opal

You look at Opal with angst, as you want to find Min as soon as possible. With no signs of anything of the like, you hope that Opal's FORESIGHT will be able find something you will be able to work with. Opal shakes her head as her eyes glow red for a moment before a bright red light covers the forest. Opal then searches around the area with intent, looking every which way until she jumps up and down and squeaks. She runs to a spot in the clearance, which you go to. Looking down, you don't see anything out of the ordinary. It was just a patch of dirt. Opal sees that you don't see what she sees, and grabs a hold of your leg. Suddenly, your vision is covered in red, and you look down and see that there is two brightly glowing spots in the ground. One is a bright blueish-green spot, and is quite large, and the other is an oddly shaped dark as night spot. Only, the more you look at it, the more you realize that it is not a spot, but teeth marks. Something big did this, and judging by the brightness of the spot, it was done recently. You look at Opal, as she looks at you, when you notice something else. It was not apparent at first, but the entire clearing in the ground had a very slight blueish-green glow to it. Opal then lets go of your leg, and points in the direction where she thinks that Min went.

What will you do?[/size][/color]

This is... unbelievable...

The clearing was huge. Levin hadn't really imagined that what awaited him deep inside the forest was actually... a lack of forest.
And what Opal showed him was even more troubling... the iridescent spots on the ground, emanating a blueish-green glow, resembling impossibly large teeth marks... What was the meaning of all this, what kind of creature could have made these? And worst of all, what did that mean for Minccino?!

As Opal hurriedly motioned in a certain direction, hopefully the one that would lead them to Min, Levin took a step forward, before remembering that Dolce was still out there doing her own recon. He whistled, hoping she'd return, and waited patiently. Then, impatiently. And then he started to worry. Where was she? It was bad enough to have potentially lost one Pokemon...

---

She was no match for that Skarmory. It'd tear her to pieces! As hard as she tried to Peck it, it just brushed the attacks off like they were nothing, and the repeated jabs of sharp metal against her tiny frame were starting to become unbearable. Relentless in its pursuit, the steel bird followed her around at every twist and turn, attacking mercilessly... How long would she be able to endure this? She had to do something, anything! Perhaps... perhaps her Trainer could help! If only she could draw his attention...

Dolce started chirping loudly, as loud as she could, hoping that Levin would hear her and do something. If he didn't... she was finished.

---

Opal’s antennae vibrated slightly. Looking around, confused, she tried to understand where the almost imperceptible noise had come from… Surrounding them was nothing but devastation, so it was unlikely that the sound came from anywhere around. When she looked up however, two tiny specks in the sky caught her attention, and as she focused on them with her huge eyes, zooming in on the two dots, she finally realized it. Dolce was under attack by a dangerous-looking Skarmory! Dolce was her dear friend, she had to do something! Running back to Levin, she urged him to look up, trying her best to explain what was happening.

- What is it girl? I don’t see anything! Is it Dolce?

As Opal hopped up and down in desperation, Levin understood that something was very wrong. Trying to adjust his vision, it did seem that there were two tiny spots up there… Two?!
Then as Dolce began to fly down closer to her Trainer, the dots became larger… one was definitely his Swablu, and the other… a Skarmory?! But how? The White Flute hadn’t lured any Pokemon before, that’s why he’d been comfortable in sending Dolce out! But she couldn’t possibly measure up to a predator like that!

Both his Elekid and Magby had been left at the Daycare Centre, and Fire and Electric attacks were the only ones that could harm Skarmory… Damn it! Unless…

- Dolce, come back! Lure him to me, fly down as fast as you can!!

Reaching for a Pokeball in is belt, Levin chose the only one that could help them now… if he even listened, that is. Out came Hebi, his Dunsparce, and yawned.
Kneeling down in front of him, establishing direct eye contact so that the air-headed snake would understand everything, Levin spoke as loud and clear as he could.

- Hebi, pay attention, this is very important! Dolce is about to be killed by a Skarmory, and you have to save her! When she lures it close, I want you to blast it with the strongest Flamethrower you can muster… Got it?!

After what seemed like an eternity, Dunsparce nodded with a big smile. Now that was an order he could follow! Levin would be really happy and proud of him, he’d see!

Come on Dolce, hurry, bring it to us, make it follow you! You can do it girl…